Dimensional Descent

Leonel didn’t seem to notice the time flying by. He assumed that if the Zone was meant to last years, and he had destroyed the Zone so soon, then they would probably have to wait at least that long for everyone else to finish theirs.

And he didn’t mind one bit.

Originally, he came here ready to miss the birth of his child and their formative years. But now, he had not only gotten to witness the birth of not just one, but two of them, but he also could watch them grow as well?

What more could he ask for?

Every day, though, his babies seemed to surprise him in new ways.

After they woke up from their first meal, they were already crawling around without any help at all.

Leonel formed some toys out of thin air and stoked some of their competitive spirit. much to Aina’s dismay. She didn’t want to trigger some sort of sibling war, but Leonel was here for it.

The two of them found a way to fight one another no matter the circumstances. There was even a time where Leah tried to monopolize both of Aina’s breasts for herself, kicking her older brother away.

It was a funny sight, watching her little head bob back and forth as she tried to suck on both nipples. Leonel could practically see the gears churning in her noggin as she tried to figure it out.

Leo came back with a fierce vengeance, and Aina could only helplessly watch as the twins jostled for position when she clearly had more than enough room for both.

She looked to Leonel for help, only to find that he was laughing his ass off.

On the third day, the two of them were already walking, and by the second week, they were already running.

It was amusing to see their little bodies try to complete ridiculous maneuvers time and time again. They seemed to be very good at coordinating their bodies, but the problem was that while their brain and cognitive development was especially fast, their bodies grew at the same rate as other children.

As such, even if they could walk and ”run”--which was actually much more like a fast waddle Leo picked up after snatching Leah’s toy-they didn’t have the body proportions necessary to make it effective.

Their stubby little legs couldn’t even quite extend properly, and they were very top heavy, causing them to fall back on their bums all too often.

It was also probably because of this that their first words weren’t until over a month later. Funny enough, they neither said mom nor dad. Instead, they each said one another’s names first.

Leonel got a real kick out of that one. That was because it was definitely Aina’s fault for calling out to them so often. Those two words were practically the only ones they knew.

It was hard to describe how it felt to watch them grow day by day. From happiness, it became pressure again soon enough.

As funny as it was to watch the two lock heads every day, Leonel knew that Aina was right. They couldn’t allow it to go on forever.

It might be early, but it was probably about time to start teaching them about some matters of discipline and self-control. If their babies were going to grow up so fast, then it was only natural that they push things forward as well.

Soon, Leonel was basking in the not-so-fun part of being a parent, trying to delicately guide his children down the right path.

It didn’t take long before he understood his father’s approach to things. Sometimes, even pretending that you didn’t care for your child as much as you did was the most effective.

However... Leonel and his babies were different.

Leonel was a person who could have rightfully ended up on the Cloud Province of the Ascension Empire, jailed together with the rest of the Savants because of how his brain worked.

Because of that, when his father was ”cruel” to him, he never really saw it that way. He had always analyzed things from a more rational foundation.

But that didn’t mean that Leo and Leah would be the same. They might need the warmth and affection that Leonel had never really needed.

It was hard to get a perfect grasp of their personalities as they were changing every day, but he already knew that his children were different from him.

They had his desire to win in all things, which was why they clashed so much, but beyond that, they might as well have not been related to him at all.

However, Leonel and Aina didn’t just start with harsh lessons and reprimands. Instead, they started with stories, fairy tales that they wove from things they had already read and things they had experienced themselves.

Since they were trapped within these walls, they wanted their babies to experience the world in other ways.

Sometimes they would fall asleep in the middle of the story as Dream Force wrapped through the air, forming one image after another for them to gasp in shock and awe

about. But Leonel and Aina didn’t wake them, instead allowing them to rest their minds and digest what they had heard before picking things up later.

Slowly but surely, the two grew.

After a year ticked by, Leonel already couldn’t hold back and gave them their first weapons. Now that they understood more about values and morality, it was the right

time.

Their bodies were still disproportionate, but the moment Leo got his hands on a spear and Leah touched her first bow, it was like their eyes had come alive.

”Nope,” Leonel shook his head. ”Don’t even think about adding your own flare to it

until you can beat him.”

”But dad! I already beat it!” Leo protested.

”Lucky shot,” Leonel said with a grin.

Leah laughed from a distance, dancing around as she tried to get used to firing arrows

off-balance.

”It was not lucky!” Leo said somewhat embarrassed.

Leah laughed harder, Leo had only gotten a shot in because mom was scolding dad,

and dad was too busy flirting.

In truth, Leonel had allowed Leo to get a win in on purpose. How could he slip up like

that?

It was all for this moment.

Leah was too busy laughing and lost track of her steps. She stumbled over and slipped off of the wall, landing nearly in Montez’s lap.

Leah froze, looking up at the scary man who had not said a single word in over two

years.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she suddenly didn’t know what to do.