Aetherion, who heard what Ananke had just said, was completely baffled.
Did she just say 32 Demons of the Pit and a Primordial Father?
He had never heard anything like that — not even from Gaia.
His mind kept racing with questions, trying to understand what they could be or what was really happening.
His thoughts kept rising and swirling with speculation.
Eventually, he couldn't stand the silence any longer and finally asked,
"Who are they?"
His voice echoed lightly in the stillness.
Ananke simply looked at him, her expression unreadable.
Gaia, on the other hand, turned her head away, almost as if she were avoiding the question.
She seemed nervous — about something, something related to those beings.
'This curiosity is killing me,'
he thought, annoyed by how long they were taking to explain.
'Why can't she just tell me, instead of being so dramatic and silent about it!?'
At last, Ananke finally spoke.
"Has Gaia told you the history of this world and how it was birthed?"
she asked calmly.
Aetherion nodded.
Yes, he knew the history — or at least, what he believed was the full truth.
He knew of the birth of the first Primordials born from Chaos:
Gaia, the Primordial of the Earth
Nyx, the Primordial of the Night
Ananke, the Primordial of Destiny
Chronos, the Primordial of Time
Eros, the primordial of love
Erebus, the Primordial of Darkness
And Tartarus, the Primordial of the Abyss
These were the first generation, the original entities birthed by Chaos, the ones who helped shape the world into what it was today.
But then Ananke said something that made his breath hitch.
"What she told you is not the complete truth."
She paused briefly, letting her words sink in.
"There was one more Primordial of the first generation. He was actually the youngest of us all."
Her voice was calm, but it carried a weight that hung heavily in the air.
Aetherion could feel the tension, but more than that — the rising curiosity was starting to burn in his chest.
And then she continued.
"When all of us came into existence, something else was born from our mother—Chaos—not from her side of creation, but from her darker side: the one of chaos and destruction. From that energy, our brother was born—the youngest of us all: Poneros."
The name itself seemed to hang in the air.
Poneros.
It was as if the name's owner could hear it being spoken.
When Aetherion heard it, he felt a chill run down his spine, sharp and cold, so intense it made sweat form on his forehead—something he hadn't experienced since the time he trained.
'What the hell!?' he thought. 'Just hearing that name is enough to make me feel dread and fear… Why?'
He didn't understand what was happening.
Just the mention of that name made him feel weak, hollow, and uneasy in a way he couldn't explain.
"I apologize," Ananke said gently. "A name holds power. And just hearing his name is enough to strike fear into any deity."
Aetherion simply nodded, understanding.
He had already learned that words—especially names—held real power.
Then Ananke continued.
"But the thing is, our youngest brother wasn't normal. He was… different. An anomaly. An irregularity. He wasn't the embodiment of just one concept of existence, like the rest of us. He embodied multiple."
Aetherion's eyes widened at that.
After all, he remembered clearly—every first-generation Primordial, and even the second generation, embodied only one domain or concept.
Gaia was Earth.
Nyx was Night.
Chronos was Time.
Each of them embodied a singular force of nature or reality.
Only Chaos herself, the Mother of All, held more than one concept within her.
He didn't think it was possible for any of the others to be more than one.
It truly confused him.
His face reflected it as he looked at Ananke.
"I understand," she said, as if reading his thoughts. "It is confusing. It confused us too. None of us were born like him. But at the time, we didn't think too much of it…"
Her voice trailed off for a moment.
"But the real problem was that Panoros… lacked a consciousness. He didn't simply wake with thought—nor did he have an ego. Not one that could think clearly. Rationally. Strategically."
Aetherion's expression tightened.
He was starting to understand now.
Aetherion was slowly beginning to understand more of what Ananke was saying.
He could tell this being—this brother—wasn't self-aware. But why? What was he the Primordial of? What concept of reality did he represent?
Ananke continued, raising her hand as she summoned an illusion with her fingers.
Light swirled and formed into a figure.
At first, it looked like a man—but no.
It changed and wasn't a man.
It was a beast.
A beast?
No… a dragon.
A massive, three-headed dragon.
Each head glowed with a different color.
To the right: a violent, destructive purple, filled with an unsettling energy.
In the center: a blazing red, as if representing—and feeding on—all the sins of the world.
To the left: a pitch black, so deep and void of light that simply looking at it sent a shiver through Aetherion's entire body.
It was pure evil.
"This," Ananke said softly, "was our brother. The Primordial of Evil, Sin, and Destruction—Poneros."
She continued, her voice heavy.
"He was the one we—every First Generation Primordial—combined our powers to seal away down the deepest part of Tartarus the pit. A place we transformed into 32 layers… all created to separate and seal him from this world."
She paused, her gaze darkening.
"We had no choice. He couldn't be reasoned with. He didn't have an ego—no sense of self in the way we do. He acted purely on instinct."
With a wave of her hand, the illusion shifted.
Poneros monstrous form tore into the Earth, shattered the night sky , and devoured starlight.
He didn't just destroy.
He corrupted.
His destruction was filled with pleasure—as if doing evil deeds itself fed him… joy.
"He didn't control his powers," Ananke said grimly. "They controlled him."
Aetherion's mind raced with questions.
But one lingered the most.
"What about those Daemons you mentioned before?"
he asked at last.
Ananke turned toward him slowly.
Her expression grew more serious.
He had to know.
After all, she had said Poneros was their father.
But he had been sealed away.
So how could he possibly have children—especially 32 Daemons—if he was locked so far down in Tartarus?
"That," Ananke said, "is because of PonerosPrimordial energy that continues to pour out from him."
"Can you please not keep saying his name!?"
Aetherion asked, shivering as goosebumps ran down his spine.
But Ananke ignored him and continued speaking, unfazed by his discomfort
"When we sealed him," she continued, "his corrupted essence remained behind. Each of the 32 layers of the Pit became stained with that energy. And from each corrupted layer… a Daemon was born."
She paused, letting the words settle.
"They're not like you nor Kronos. They aren't like the gods or titans either. They are battle-hungry, bloodthirsty deities. Beings who live for chaos and destruction. And they enjoy it."
"One of them—ruler of the 21nd layer—managed to slip through once because we didn't know of their existence," she added. "And he was daring enough to challenge Tartarus himself."
Aetherion's eyes widened.
That shocked him.
Tartarus was a Primordial—an original force of the universe.
This Daemon was… what? A lesser deity?
But Ananke shook her head as if reading his thoughts.
"No," she said. "That Daemon was powerful—terrifyingly so. He had reached the level of a Greater God."
Aetherion leaned in, listening more intently now.
"Of course the daemon lost and was thrown back into the pit again.
With Tartarus creating additional seals so that the other Daemons could not escape, he even came to inform me about it. I must admit, I didn't think much of it at the time. But then,"
Ananke's expression grew serious,
"I had to see and make sure for myself."Ananke went on. "So I checked their strings of fate connected to them… and managed to get a look at their strength."
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"What I discovered was disturbing. The Daemons of the lower layers, especially the First to Tenth's, were unlike anything we expected. Monsters. Some of them were already and others were approaching the strength of Second Generation Primordials."