Time of birth: the 7th of July 2020, 1500 hours. In other words, three in the afternoon: exactly eight hours apart from the expected time. If the family had stayed in their homeland, the time would have lined up just right.

Despite some complications, both mother and child survived the delivery.

After the initial bonding moment, they had to let the mother get some much-needed rest. The baby was wheeled to the nursery with all the other newborns.

Connor glued his face against the glass, staring at his new child with nervous excitement.

For Mezil Thyme… it was an odd experience. Never would he consider the possibility of looking at his other self as a tiny full-haired newborn in a crib.

Stern right out of the womb…

I know all newborns have their face scrunched… But this? It's too much. Perhaps it's just my own perception colouring reality?

Mezil watched Palatino patting Connor on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Mister Winston. You have a healthy baby boy."

"Thank you. Man. I can't believe it… he's gonna grow up soooo cool."

"You know, I usually only see this for first time parents, but I guess he is your first son after all."

I don't think that's the reason, Mister Palatino.

Finally peeling himself off the glass, Connor turned to the midwife. "Okay okay okay. I know this is gonna blow your mind out of your skull. BUT. I think this is super important. It's about Mister Thyme here."

And Mezil became the focus of attention.

"Are you serious?" he grumbled. "I was so careful to veil my past, and you're going to blurt it out to your midwife?"

"This is Ebott's Wake, dude! The zaniest town in the multiverse! A little heads up would do us both good."

There's no stopping Connor once he had set his mind to something. Such is the side effect of being a determinator. "Fine, fine." Mezil surrendered. "Just find someplace private."

So Mezil Thyme, Connor, and Palatino secluded themselves in a quiet corridor.

"First things first," the proud father showed his hand to the elder. "Meet the boy you had just delivered, 50 years into the future!"

Palatino dropped his jaw. "Are you serious?"

"Well, an ALTERNATE future! But the future nonetheless. Look at him. He's so posh and badass! The spitting image of my grandfather!"

Chuckling, the skeleton commented: "No wonder your wife thought Mister Thyme is a vampire. I can see why. He does not have the same aura as a regular human."

"What do you mean?" asked Connor.

"I sense strong skeleton magic from him. In fact, I thought he was a member of my kind."

Mezil then unbuckled the buttons of his sleeves and said: "I suppose you were detecting these."

When he bared his arms, the two other men widened their eyes in amazement. A typical reaction for anyone first witnessing his Arcanagram-rigged skin.

"Are those…. Tattoos?" Connor peered closer. "Whoaaaa. Circuit lines? Points? Hey I see a bunch of polygrams too. They're so crisp and black. Are they fresh?"

Palatino shook his head. "No, Mister Winston. They're not made of ink. It's magic imbued straight into his epidermis! They're black because they're inactive, right?"

"Indeed," Mezil confirmed. "They glow white when they're in use. For example… Activate Integrity: Reinforcement."

Thus, the Code that's associated with Integrity glowed white. Everything else remained in their inactive black state.

Connor covered his mouth, resisting the urge to scream from the possible mixture of nervousness, joy, and excitement. He squeaked something that sounded like 'coooool', although it was so high pitched Mezil wasn't sure.

As for Palatino… his fingers wanted to touch the tattoos…

"You may touch them," said Mezil. "They will not hurt you. And, you're not infringing on my privacy either."

"Oh, I… I'm not sure if I should." The skeleton's breath quickened. "I have never seen anything like this before. Just looking at it tells me that this is a deep, complex magic. Way, way beyond my understanding. I feel like a young child - barely able to read my alphabets - standing before this magnificent creation."

Mezil clarified, "Just so you know, I did not make this. It is skeleton magic after all."

"Who then?" asked Palatino. "Does such a person exist in our world? Or did you strike a deal with a god from elsewhere?"

Deeper and deeper the questions go. Mezil pitied the man. For Palatino's sake, he hoped that he had met a different spouse in this world.

The 'vampire' therefore asked: "Is your wife's name Lydianne, whose fire of ambition burns brighter than her beauty?"

"H-how did you know? I thought it was strange that you knew my name."

"Is your newborn daughter Lucidia, 'The Light of Dawn'?"

Palatino withdrew his hand in fear. He took a few steps back, distancing himself from Mezil. That behaviour snapped Connor out of his nerdy mood.

"Okay, my son from the future," said Connor. "What does Palatino's daughter have to do with you?"

Mezil planted down his cane. "She is the mind behind this magnificence: the one with whom I made a life-binding vow. 'Till death do us part."

Both fathers looked at each other. Their minds still needed time to catch up with their ears.

"You… you mean… my daughter will one day marry my client's son?"
"I'm gonna be an in-law to a monster? That's not a problem, but that never crossed my mind!"

Since that fact had finally sunk into their noggins, Mezil thought it's time to move on to more serious matters.

"I wouldn't be celebrating just yet," he said. "In my timeline, Lucidia was given over to the Grandmaster of the Magus Association as a gift. It was a blessing in disguise, for her mother cared more about her own ideals than loving her children."

"I don't think her adoptive father exists in this world. Therefore, this Lucidia will be living right under Lydianne's thumb."

The young human tried to intervene. "W-wait! Isn't this a bit too blunt? Harsh? Both?"

"I apologize if it hurts," Mezil said, "But I do not have enough time to ease it in. I may return to my dimension tomorrow, so any personal warnings must be given now."

"Still, you can't just accuse another man's wife of being an abuser-"

Palatino lifted his palm to Connor. "Sir. Thank you for defending me. But, I know what kind of a person Lydianne is. I can see that bearing a prodigy might drive her to… high hopes."

The skeleton braced for what he needed to hear. "Mister Thyme, if you are indeed my daughter's future husband… then say what you need to say."

The green light was given; there's no turning back.

"Very well, Mister Palatino. It shall be done. Should your wife pursue the path of ambition instead of love, she will fracture her bond with Lucidia beyond repair."

"Her first sin was to pledge Lucidia as a gift to the Grandmaster of the Magus Association. I do not care if it's done out of 'gratitude': I still consider the act itself disgusting."

"As my wife grew up, Lydianne tried to gain influence on the claim that she's her birth mother. She tried to meddle with her daughter's path by all sorts of nonsense. Meanwhile Lucidia tried to fulfil that ideal to her own detriment. To this day, that crone's standards haunt my wife like a cursed ghost."

"The situation became so bad, that the Grandmaster banned Lydianne from showing her presence ever again. Repentance was the sole condition. Yet, that condition was never fulfilled. Instead she tried to weasel updates through you, through her other children, and through their children's children. It was her 'right' as Lucidia's mother, so she claimed."

"It drove Lucidia to cease all contact with her birth family. You included, Mister Palatino. Her heart only had one father and it wasn't you. Despite the hell Lydianne put her through, she still had the gall to call Lucidia an ungrateful child."

"Such is my wife's future with your family. As you can see, I'm not close either."

A grim silence hung in the air. Though Mezil's front remained stoic, his heart crunched with regret.

The poor skeleton shook his head. "E-excuse me. I should go and check on Missus Winston." And so, unable to bear the unveiled truth, he discreetly fled from the source of much stress.

"Wow," said Connor, deadpan. "Can't believe he had it worse."

Mezil raised a brow. "Worse than being dead?"

"Yup. That's some soap opera level drama right there."

…Dad, I couldn't disclose your future for a reason. You might fall into a deep depression knowing where Emelline and Albert went.

The human father then fingergunned down the hall. "I'm gonna check on Maggie too. See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"I mean, you haven't held your baby self yet. C'mon. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'll take a picture! Your wife will love it."

Mezil couldn't deny that it was a cute proposal. Lucidia could use some laughter. "I suppose so… Besides, the skeleton brothers would want to know the fruits of their rescue."

"Great! See you tomorrow, son!" So Connor left the area too.

Alone, without any need to maintain a front, Mezil leaned his back against the wall. He proceeded to breathe a long, tired sigh.

…What is wrong with me? I shouldn't have said anything to Palatino. I held my tongue before my father, yet failed before him…

…

Lucidia, Lucidia. Am I trying to fulfil a selfish fantasy?

Is this enough to change your fate?