The path of all but blood

"Who said family has to be by blood?" The man gazed up at the inky black nothing above them. "It is one's heart that dictates family, one's actions. Genetics, bah. They have never managed to unravel the meaning of life, of love."

Walter nodded, even as he climbed up a clock hand that stretched upwards, the branches on it giving him purchase, before falling into a portal at the pinnacle.