#future child

Yet here he was in Okhema’s Marmoreal Market, pausing amid stalls glittering with trinkets, books, and broken philosophies, freshly displaced from the wreckage of the train attack, feeling like a derailed thought in a half-written theory.

He should’ve noticed the child sooner.

They weren’t loud. Weren’t crying. Just staring.

At him.

From behind a stack of secondhand tomes, their gaze locked on his—eyes wide with that raw, inquisitive intensity only possessed by the terribly young and the terrifyingly perceptive.

“…You’re not supposed to be alone,” he said, kneeling.

The child blinked. Then smiled.

“You still smell like old books and fire,” they said softly, tugging his hand with unearned familiarity. “Did you finish your big truth-thing yet?”

He froze.

“…What?”

But they only giggled and twirled the crimson ends of his jacket between their fingers. “Renny says you never sleep because you’re afraid you’ll miss the right question. But you don’t need to find it now. It’s okay. You’ll get there. I remember.”

I remember.

Anaxa's tongue turned to ash. He stood, but the child had already scampered off, tugged by the hand of an unfamiliar guardian. His breath faltered.

Later that night, after the temple’s first healing circle, you found him sitting alone, half-drunk on clarity and silence.

“I saw something strange,” he murmured without looking at you.

You sat beside him. “The market child?”

He gave a tight, humorless smile.

“They quoted my unfinished thesis... one I haven’t even written yet.” A pause. “They looked like you. The eyes were mine. The defiance? That was all you.”

You squeezed his hand. No more words needed.

Truth always arrived late in Anaxagoras’s world—but for once, it came wearing small shoes and boundless affection.

The market was noisy—of course it was—but Mydei moved through it like the war-forged ghost he was, unnoticed unless he wished otherwise.

He only stopped when a familiar stall caught his eye—pomegranates and goat cheese. His favorite (but he'll never admit it anyone out loud).

He was about to walk past when a voice piped up:

“You’re going to buy two, right? Renny says you always buy two.”

A small hand tugged on the hem of his cape.

He turned.

A child, barely to his thigh in height, stared up at him with unnerving certainty. Their eyes sparkled. The markings on their arm mimicked the style of the Kremnoan dynasty, though subtly softened. Almost playful.

“What did you say?”

“You always buy two. One for you. One for Renny. And you always pretend not to like the cheese part infront of Renny.”

The weight in his chest threatened to collapse him. “I… do I know you?”

The child tilted their head, thoughtful. “Not yet.”

A soft laugh. Not mocking. Just honest.

They pointed toward the temple ruins, to where you waited among the crowd, oblivious.

“I’m not s’posed to talk long. You told me that. Said it would mess stuff up.” Then, more quietly: “But you looked tired. I wanted you to smile today.”

And like a memory from a battle he couldn’t place, they vanished into the market crowd.

Later, after Nikador’s second assault was narrowly held back (or finished, I don't remember, sorry), he returned to you, bloodied but alive. He told you nothing.

Just held you a little longer that night. Just listened to you a little more.

And when the next market run came, he bought two.

He even ate the cheese, without pretending to not liking it.

Phainon loved markets. Not for the goods, but for the laughter. The noise. The people who still believed in something.

He had just finished helping a merchant unload broken refugee crates when a small voice called out.

“Khaslana.”

The name hit like a spear through dream-fog.

He turned.

A child waved at him from atop a barrel, legs swinging. “That’s your secret name, right? You used it in the sad world. But you’re not sad here. Not yet.”

Phainon blinked. His first instinct was to dismiss it—children say strange things.

But this one had your smile. Your exact smile.

He approached slowly.

“You know that name?”

They nodded. “You let me borrow your coat sometimes when it storms. It smells like sun and fighting. And Renny says you still snore when you nap, even if you try to deny it.”

A pause.

“I wanted to see you again… before the world wakes up. Before you go.”

He crouched to meet their eyes. “I’m… going somewhere?”

They looked guilty. “Oops. You always say spoilers are bad.”

Their little hands patted his armored gauntlet as if it were a bandage.

“Don’t worry. You come back. You always come back.”

Then, just like a blink in a failing simulation, they were gone.

Phainon stood frozen until your voice brought him back. You'd found a trinket—and were beaming as you showed it to him.

Later, after your group reached the Marmoreal Palace and Phainon stood beneath a sky trembling with prophecy, he touched the gauntlet on his arm and whispered:

“Even if I fall a million times…”

He smiled.

“…They’ll still remember my snore.”

1. they would want to warn you against being so mean and harsh. you run the risk of being your child's first heartbreak. even if for some reason there's circumstances where you have to leave your child (such as putting them in their grandparents care because you feel you can't parent), you need to make it clear this isn't their fault. this child will see you as emotionally neglectful and physically absent (some of you choose romantic interests over your children, so even if you're around in the same house as them you're not spending time with your child). they want to ask you to not be the first person to scar them. they also worry about having to tip-toe around you and want you to create a safe home environment, otherwise they will feel no choice but to be secretive (they will sometimes not tell you even very normal things about themselves just because they feel judged but they will also likely take a long time introducing their boyfriends or girlfriends to you, fearing your judgement). they have sympathy for you because they think you were damaged from your own childhood but they would still ask you to hurt them less. also, to remember what you say - the fact that you say mean things and then forget is hurtful.

2. they want to tell you to not be surprised if they have to cut off contact with you one day. if you continuously reject them, violate their privacy or just be continuously mean to them, they will not stick around forever - likely moving very far away (and they will not be generous with their second chances). they think you are irresponsible, for some in an extreme way (e.g. excessive drinking), and they are asking you try and become more stable before becoming their parent. you could particularly have trouble with them around the age of 15 - they are different from other kids and more awkward or insecure. they want you to not say mean things to them about it however, to remember you are the parent. it's as if you're either too harsh or you're too "cool" (this could come from you trying to be extra nice around this age after realising you were so harsh during their childhood or after something your child has gone through) and you could encourage decisions in them they regret (e.g. if they want to dropout at 15 and you think they should shouldn't, you should encourage staying in school and not let them make possible life-altering decisions so young). again, this is simply asking for responsibility from you.

3. they would ask if you could be more honest with them, to be less moody with them. you two are naturally opposites and reacting poorly to this could make them react very poorly in return (you run the risk of being your child's first heartbreak). they want to ask you to try and control them less (trying to control how they turn out). the asking for honesty is emphasised, whatever reason you think you have to lie to them so often, they're letting you know this will cause a big divide between the both of you (they will run away from you or just become secretive).

4. they want to ask you to remember to give them space, freedom and to not put so much pressure on them (try not to shelter them too harshly either). they get the feeling you live vicariously through them, or that you even want to prove you can be the perfect parent perhaps rather than just being there for them - even if you plan to do this through "healthy" means (such as, trying to copy how popular mothers on tiktok do or something since it seems so positive), they will ultimately think you are too smothering. eventually your child will start to believe they were only born to make you happy, that they are not deserving of their own autonomy (overall finding you rather cruel, hurting them slowly but deeply and surely). deep down they understand this isn't your intention but it's important for you to understand that intention is not enough. they want you to tell them you love them often.

5. they want to tell you to not be so hard on yourself (and to forgive them too). you might have a particularly hard childhood yourself or there are just other experiences and challenges you have experienced that leak into the way you parent your child. this will cause confusion in your child and they will act our or say really mean things to you - they want to tell you that when this happens to know they don’t mean it and it’s just because they are hurt and immature. they want tell you they’re not going to be able to fully understand the decisions you made or why you sometimes behaved the way you did until they’re older (or even a parent) themselves. they want to ask you to remember in these rough moments that they don’t actually want to hurt you. 

6. they want you to try and get help with your problems if possible before having them, they don't expect you to be perfect but it's possible you suffer from anxiety, depression or something else that you only know how to deal with by using unhealthy coping mechanisms (this will create an anxious environment for them where they will become a nervous and worried child or person). they want to thank you for being overall supportive of them and they want to tell you they support you too, they want you to learn to become more emotionally stable and balanced for your own sake too.

7. they want to ask you to put them first more often, to try and focus on money (or romance) less - this may be because you are simply focused on career and not losing your independence after becoming a parent, or it may even be because you plan to capitalise on them - in either case, they will start to have a very negative opinion of you (thinking of you as honestly being somewhat of a scumbag). they are letting you know that they are not an unforgiving person, they will give you a lot of chances, so they ask that you use them wisely. even when they're an adult, if you get into the habit of only going to them because you need something or because you feel guilty, they may still hold some resentment but will be open to listening to you if they can tell you have good intentions (but try to not let it get to this point).