Dao 4 Epilogue 1 (Patreon)

“Twins,” Derek’s wife, Melindra, said as she held two adorable little girls amid their home. It had been rough, but the hay was clean and the midwife said that his wife would recover.

Both of the babies had the bluest eyes that Derek had ever seen. The two little girls didn’t even cry; they stared back with a depth that didn’t seem to make sense for a newborn.

Derek sat down next to his wife and kissed her forehead. “You did so well. How are you feeling?”

“Weak,” his wife panted, and it made him smile. She was always straight with him.

“Want me to—” Two heavy thuds shook their house, as if a giant were knocking on their door.

“Go get it.” His wife seemed out of it, and she stared back down at the two girls, not disturbed at all by the loudness of the knock.

Derek walked past the little fire he had going, finding that the front door was broken off one of the hinges.

“—was I supposed to know that it had bad hinges?” a deep voice spoke on the other side.

“I think you are a little too eager,” a woman spoke.

“Of course I’m eager.”

“Eager for what?” Derek asked as he opened the door, taking in the two people on the other side.

His eyes grew wide and he slammed the door back in place, quickly grabbing a stool and trying to block the door.

A veritable giant was outside his home, with glowing eyes and runes covering his body. Derek looked over where wife and two children were resting, protective nature filling him as he tried to figure out the closest weapon he could use.

“That was rude,” the giant spoke before a hand pressed through the door as if it were nothing but a leaf.

“Please. We don’t have anything worth taking.” Derek fell backwards.

“You scared him!” The woman, who Derek noticed now had wings, punched the giant in the shoulder. “I told you that you knocked too hard.”

The giant grunted and just ripped the door off rather than bother with it. “I’ll fix that later. Sorry…”

Derek realized the giant was waiting for an introduction. He stood, slightly shaking as he introduced himself. “I’m Derek, who are you?”

“Darius Yiggdrasil. This is Valdis, and behind me is a couple that would very much like to help you raise your children,” the giant spoke as he stepped into the home; the floor groaned under his weight.

Darius frowned, and the boards eased as if he had suddenly become lighter. “Sorry. Your world isn’t very developed yet.”

“How did you know I had children?” Derek was stuck on that point, his eyes darting over to the bedroom.

“Because they are very special.” The giant bent down and grabbed his hand before hauling Derek back to his feet as if he weighed as much as a chicken. “Can we see them?”

“S-sure.” Derek didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t really sure he had a choice. “Honey, we have some strange guests. Don’t panic.”

The couple that had been behind the giant scooted past.

Derek only got a moment to see them. The man had arms like a laborer and the woman’s eyes filled with melancholy. She held far too much sadness in her eyes for how young she looked.

Both of them looked fit and clean, like royalty. But if they had the power of whatever the magical giant was behind them, it made sense.

Derek hurried after them as they surrounded his wife.

“Amber?” the woman asked, and to his surprise, the child turned to the woman and held up the tiniest of hands.

“Who are you?” Melindra frowned, holding the babies closer as the people packed into the room. Her eyes went wide as the magical giant ducked in.

“Crowded, and it’s only going to get worse now that you have two little ones.” Darius snapped his fingers and the floorboards stretched. The walls pushed out and Derek watched as the room expanded several times its size.

And Derek couldn’t help but notice as both of his little girls fixated on the giant and smiled.

“That’s them,” Darius said, sitting down as a stone seat rose up to meet his ass.

Derek didn’t know what his children were, but if the magic giant wanted them, he’d have to pry them out of his cold dead hands. “Listen here.”

“Calm yourself.” The winged woman had a blade like none he’d ever seen before in her hand as she pointed at his throat. “Your children will be fine.”

Derek was too terrified to point out that it wasn’t exactly calming to have a knife at your throat.

“Tabby, why don’t we adopt them? The parents, I mean,” the laborer suggested to his wife.

“Adopt them?” Tabby asked and looked over at Derek. “Do you have parents nearby dear?”

“No. We moved out here for the land. Our parents have passed. But you are younger than us?” He wasn’t sure why it came out as a question. Derek was beyond confused at the moment.

Tabby covered her mouth as she laughed. A little joy sparkling in her eyes. “He thinks I’m young.”

The giant leaned over out of his stone throne. “She’s far older than you, and I’d recommend you take them up on their offer. You’ll want for nothing in this world. Those two could topple your kingdom in a night, and they would do it in a heartbeat if your children were in danger.”

Melindra was staring at Derek, her eyes forcing him to make the decision.

“Of course, then. Thank you. Uhh… mother and father.” He bowed to both of them as was customary, but it felt awkward to do so to the two young looking people.

“We should take them back to Hearthway,” Tabby stated.

“Too young,” the giant’s voice rattled his little home. But even as Derek thought it, he realized his home wasn’t so little anymore. He felt like his mind was going to ooze out his ears with all of the strangeness around him.

“Hup. Two. Three. Four. Keep up, kittens,” a cheerful voice entered his home as a Nyan stepped through the threshold.

Derek had never seen one of the people that resembled a cat before, but he had heard of them. This one had a troop of young children following after her, some of the older ones even carrying those too young to walk.

The line of young Nyan just seemed to continue endlessly as the giant snapped again. Derek watched as the house began expanding once more to accommodate the new bodies.

“Papa!” One of the Nyan threw themselves on the magical giant’s lap, followed by several more. He began to be swarmed as they all started climbing him.

Watching the spectacle made the giant seem far less terrifying as he gently shifted them all around.

“These are yours?” Derek asked.

“A few of them, isn’t there?” The giant’s voice sounded like a tired old man for a moment.

“Kittens, don’t climb on Dar. He has important work to do. Oh, hi. You must be the parents.” The Nyan woman had the brightest red hair with black streaks in it. “I’m Neko. These are my kittens. I think you have some of my descendants here in this world…” She tapped her lips as her brows pinched down.

“The Nyan?” he asked.

“Yes! Oh, I remember bringing a daughter down here ages ago.”

Derek’s mind blanked as he tried to fit the timeline with the young Nyan in front of him. “Are you all gods?”

“Close enough,” the winged woman said.

Tabby and Melindra had been talking in hushed tones over his two children, and Derek was just about as overwhelmed as a man could be.

“Sorry we are late.” Another group of women came in. All of them were like beautiful gems, with bright clothes and brighter hair. Even the one with dark skin and darker hair had a lustrous shine in her hair that made it almost look like dark gold.

The green-haired woman jumped forward onto Melindra’s bed. “Oh, you look like the two have put you through the ringer. So apt for them to be born as twins this time around. How about I give you a little help?”

Derek watched as color returned to his wife’s face and the green-haired woman kissed his two children. Then she bounced off the bed and looked to the giant, only to pout when she saw him covered in young Nyan.

“Sorry. Introductions. I’m Cherry, that’s Sasha, Bai, Sha, Mika, and Blaire. Got that?” The peppy Cherry ran right over their names.

Derek nodded dumbly. He took in the tallest woman, who seemed to be a giant to match the man. She was carrying a sleeping child against her shoulder and doing her best to look friendly, but as she towered over the room, it wasn’t entirely effective.

“She’s a bit much.” Sasha, one of the women, came over and put a gentle hand on Derek’s shoulder. “But you’ll get used to it.”

This woman seemed softer and kinder, and she was trying to calm him without a knife, so Derek decided she might be his favorite.

“So we can’t take them away. Does that mean we get to play kings and queens again, or do you want to be god rulers?” Blaire made bold and suggestive faces at the giant.

Darius sighed and put his head in his hands. “Do we have to pick from those two options?”

“I’m not living in a little village,” the giantess demanded. “I require servants.”

The giant looked up from his hand, surprise on his face.

Derek thought it seemed like a reasonable suggestion. They certainly could be wealthy enough to have servants.

“Umm…” Derek wasn’t sure where to start, so he turned to the giant. The man seemed like the decision maker. “What must I do in return for keeping my children healthy and safe.”

“Anything you want.” The giant shrugged as Nyan children continued to climb on him. “Regardless of what you decide, you and your wife are under our protection. When the girls are older, we’ll take you somewhere else.” The giant paused and pulled two fruits out of the air. “Eat one and give the other to your wife. They’ll help keep you both healthy.”

Derek cradled the fruit like it was made of gold and hurried to interrupt Tabby, who was talking to his wife. “He said we needed to eat these fruits.” He looked to his wife for help sorting through the madness. “What do we do?”

“Gods just came into our home to welcome our children into the world, Derek. Who are we to try and dictate the course?” Melindra took the fruit and bit into it without hesitation.

Derek nodded, taking a bite of his own. As he bit into it, it was like something exploded in the back of his mind. He suddenly had a concept of wood grains and something called a dao.

“All right.” The giant stood, Nyan children falling off of him as he clapped.

The air rippled and Derek’s house was torn apart.

“Whoops!” The giant scratched his head as the girls laughed.

“Told you. You knocked too hard.” The winged woman howled with laughter.

Darius ignored them. “Well then. Valdis, go find me a nice palace here. Actually, let’s make it a competition. Whoever finds the nicest castle or palace or whatever the kings here have here gets the usual reward.”

Suddenly, the women burst into motion. Their faces became serious as they started darting out of the door faster than Derek could comprehend.

The giantess roared forward as she became a colossal, scaled beast, flying into the air. The dark-skinned woman became a sand storm, howling off across their village.

Even the Nyan gathered her children before they single file marched with her into a shadow under the shrubs.

Only a moment later, they were sitting alone with the giant and their new parents.

“Ah. Peace and quiet, at least for a few minutes. Trust me, just enjoy this moment.”