#Writing #BloodofSilenceSeries #DanceTillOurEnd #DTOE
"You directly disobeyed Convocation orders, and flung yourself straight into the chaos. I cannot believe you," came a familiar voice. "Have you any idea how dangerous this is?!"
"This is a personal venture," I murmured, eyes fixed ahead as I continued what I was doing.
"Oh yes, a personal venture you just had to bring Elidibus along for."
"Emet-Selch--" he started, before I raised to my feet with a sigh, holding out an arm to stop him.
"To come here alone is a fools' endeavor. Not without another able-bodied companion, of which, you may recall, I have few to call upon. Why are you here?"
"To bring you back."
"You can't keep me locked up forever, Hades," I crossed my arms.
"I am not intending to, but for your own safety, you must--"
"It is my duty to protect you all. That is what I must do, first and foremost."
"It is your duty to stay alive."
"If I may," Elidibus interjected. "Azem has gathered valuable information as to the current state of Pandæmonium. Had we not come here, in its current state, it may very well destroy us all."
He huffed indignantly. "And I'm sure the Words of Lahabrea will be all-to-interested to hear of that, but I'm afraid I must still take you both with me, whether you like it or not. We have matters to discuss."
"What sort of matters?" I asked cautiously.
"Nothing less than the fate of this very star."
"You can't be serious; that's madness!"
"If our calculations are correct, the corruption could arrive in a matter of days. We have little choice but to go ahead with the plan," Fandaniel explained.
Just days ago they had all been so sure it would stay in the East, as it had done so for weeks. We were so sure of the time we had...
"And you say someone must serve as its will. Who?"
"They must be powerful, and unwavering in their conviction. He turned to the youngest of us, clothed in white. It must be you, Elidibus. If you will accept."
His lips parted in surprise. "O-of course, I would be honoured."
I could see the pained expressions of my comrades' faces as I looked around the room. None of them wanted to do this, that was plain as day. So why had they all agreed? I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Already, so many people and places have been taken from them. Things holding special memories; the very things that make this star home. All will be turned to ash once this is over, and you would take the only thing they have left? Those few who have survived?"
No one answered. They simply stared down in silence.
"No. I would sooner abandon the star than abide that. But if that is not an option, then..."
I stood up from my seat, taking a deep breath before removing my signature black mask. "I will have no part in this. I renounce the seat of Azem."
Shocked gasps and murmurs echoed throughout the room, but I didn't care.
Emet-Selch stood up in outrage "You can't just renounce your seat. Not at a time like this!"
"Watch me."
And with that, I was out the door before he could muster up a response.
With a wave of my hand, a regular white mask was back on my face, and my robes were that of a defector.
Walking the streets, I recalled what I had been told in the days following my parents' demise.
"It will spread, and rot the star from the inside out--praying on our fears and weaknesses. It will cost us everything, and we will be powerless to stop it, but it will not take from us our hope. For if life itself is to endure, we must accept despair as our constant companion, lest it be our undoing."
She had told me of the sundered world. Of Fira Alia, and her desolate future. She had told me that she was to be the orchestrator of it, and asked if she would have my support.
She never told me how she would do it exactly, or what would cost us everything, but I felt that I didn't need those answers anymore. Zodiark was to become the will of the star, and she was going to sunder him.
Such a possibility sounded incredulous--even to my ears--but so far, all she had said had come true.
It was impossible to stop this coming of the Final Days. This much she had told me, but if I could prevent the sundering, and thereby erase the convergence of timelines...
I hummed quietly to myself. Yes, that could work, but how to go about it...
As I settled into my temporary lodgings that night, the question yet lingered on my mind.
How could I ensure the survival of not only us and the star, but hope itself?
I awoke to a scream.
Shooting out of bed, I instinctively grabbed my robe and rushed to open the curtains and see what the commotion was.
One look at the sky and I had my answer. It was early.
"Arion!" I called, jumping aboard my stead to survey the situation.
Fires had begun to engulf the city as creatures of nightmares rammed into buildings from above with the ease one might swat a fly. They crumbled and fell, and it was all I could do to watch as innocents who'd been sleeping just moments before, were sent tumbling to their deaths.
I felt bile raise up my throat, but I stubbornly swallowed it back down. Now was not the time to worry about myself.
Horrifying, stomach-wrenching, absolute chaos. Now that I saw it with my own eyes, I could see every part of that initial missive had been true, and we were wholely unprepared, for how could one even begin to prepare for this?
"You intend to go ahead with the summoning?" Hythlodaeus asked. "Even without her approval?"
"We have little choice in the matter. Much more of this, and we'd struggle to have enough people for it in the first place."
"Indeed," he hummed. "Then allow me to be the first. I have little else to offer in the face of such a calamity, and as chief of the Bureau of the Architect, I feel it is my duty to do that much."
"Hythlodaeus, you can't just--"
"Ah, but how is anyone to trust in your plan if its creators aren't willing to offer up their own loved ones? Worry not, I do this of my own volition."
My teeth clenched. "And what about Cynthia?"
"She will hold fast to her ideals, as she is about as stubborn as you are," he chuckled. "I do this as much for the star as I do for her; for she cannot hope to stop the Final Days at its source if there is no tomorrow."
"Tell her I said goodbye, will you? She would only stop me, I fear."
It pained me to let him go without her here to see him off. I knew how much it would hurt her.
"Of course."
"Well then," he gave me a smile and a little wave, "I'll see you on the other side."
I did it anyway.