Master of the Loop

Chapter 210: Gods, Men, and Things Unspoken

Chapter 210

Gods, Men, and Things Unspoken

Three months had gone by since the fateful day that the Kingdom, by and large, had dubbed the Vanishing. One day, the capital of the Ethwar Kingdom stood proud and tall, a shining beacon of power and might and authority, and the next it was gone. The gorgeously paved streetsgone. The lines and rows of housesgone. The seemingly never-ending commercial buildings lining the streetsgone. Gone. Gone. All gone up in flames that could be seen from hundreds of miles away.

The Wheel of Reckoning, they called itthe fiery halo that cast golden fire upon the world, washing it anew. It was, by far, believed to be a punishment sent by the Gods, for the sins of the Kingdom. But the living cannot rest upon the shoulders of the deadlife goes on, and it moves, and time never halts for no man, and for no gods. And now, not even Sylas.

For the first time in what was thousands of years, he lived with the restthere was no dying and trying anew any longer. He had become part of the world, now, as the timelines converged into one. He never quite grasped the machinations of how his reality and the other realities merged, but he hardly cared enough to mull over it. To him, it was all in the pastthe past so distant, the vast majority of it was already forgotten. For despite becoming something akin to a fundamental force of reality, large parts of him were still very much human.

And yet, then again, large parts of him were not human. In truth, he likely should have left soon after he fulfilled his questmaking Valen the King. But he didnt. He couldnt. He stayed and he observed in silence as the broken and shattered recouped and began becoming whole once again. That was the majesty of humanity, he realisedto pick themselves up from the vanishingly small nothingness and build back up the pillars that were the arms reaching toward the wanting infinity.

There, where only ashes and horrid memories were just three months ago, a small, sprawling town was erectedbit by bit, building by building, stone by stone, a new era was being ushered before his very eyes. The story told to the world was half a lie, but it worked wondersthe Gods punished the King and the Queen and the corrupt capital by smiting them down, in their place allowing a cripple fighting for the soul of the Kingdom to inherit the title and begin building it from scratch.

Though the fires were being constantly put out, they were few and far between, just enough to keep the heads awake and alert, but not enough to stir enough fire to burn down everything. Thousands came from the vast villages and towns and cities, and thousands more helped with the building. It was strange, Sylas mused in silence. The hatreds being washed so effortlessly by a single act of tragedy.

He didnt helpnot directly, at least. For most, the strange, odd, and flamboyant Prophet that accompanied the King was now a shadow of a memory, someone who vanished seemingly with the capital itself. It was not right, Sylas knew, to meddle in the affairs of the mortals much, but he meddled still at least a little bit. He put out a few of the more dangerous fires stealthily, pinned the vast world of the Undead to the north into obedience, and ensured that no other nearby Kingdoms considered acts of war for the foreseeable future.

Hey, Ashas voice woke him from his thoughts, prompting him to glance back. A breath later, she appeared from the white mist, donning the ever-so-familiar white dress. Unlike him, she stayed visible and activeevery day, she would go down from the mountain and into the settlement. What she did, Sylas did not knownor did he ask.

Hey, he greeted back, pouring her a cup of wine and setting it to the side as she sat down next to him, tossing her legs over the cliff and leaving them hanging. Fall below was deep and vast and led into the dark forest, but neither cared. Youre early today.

I know youd be missing me horribly after a few late nights.

You knew well.

... they keep asking about you.

It tracks. I am quite memorable.

You wont come no matter what?

... Sylas glanced at her and sighed, looking back up at the sky. He wanted

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to go, but there was something deep in him, a voice that was holding him back. I cant baby them, Ash.

Name me one time youve babied them. Asha scoffed. Besides, if were going to make a relationship that will last an eternity actually, well, last, we have to dispense with lies, Sylas. I held back so far on the account that this was difficult for you. But its difficult for me, and them too.

For you? He cast her an awkward glance.

Yes, it is, she nodded, taking a sip of wine. Saying goodbyes is never easy, Sylas. It never gets easy. But just because it is hard, we cant stop extending greetings either. Theres a whole army of those who didwho hid from all sentient life, retired in some dark corner of the cosmosbut I never want to end up like them.

Is it that bad?

Its awful. Yes, we will say a lot of goodbyes as we watch the ages come and go, and we will bury innumerable beloved, but we cant just run away from that reality.

Thats not why Im running, Ash, he said.

I know.

You do?

Im sympathetic, Im not a moron.

... I saw it. The way they started looking at me, he said slowly.

How?

Worship.

...

Awe. Desire. They deified me, Ash.

...

Even Valen wouldnt look me directly in the eyes.

Can you blame them? she asked.

I cant. No, I dont blame them. Id probably be the same.

... whats the problem then?

I dont know, he sighed, scratching his head. In some ways, I guess I have to get used to it, no? And its hardly as though I feel wholly and completely human, anyway.

No, I get it, she said, smiling faintly. We are human, Sylas. You twice as much as me.

Doesnt say a whole lot.

It does, she said. RememberI fell in love with a human, not a God, not a Voyager. Just a poor little boy, lost and broken and scarred. It is hard to watch those you considered brethren cast you up onto a pedestal.

Ever happened to you?

Wow, you are not particularly bright.

Look into the mirror, dumbassit was a roundabout way of asking you to, you know, tell a story.

I know, she grinned as he rolled his eyes and groaned. How does it feel?

Not nice.

Then maybe stop doing it to me?

Not a chance. Anyway, the story.

Theres no one particular story, Sylas, she said. But, though it may break your heart, you were not the first human I have ever loved.

Shocking, but go on. He said with a deadpan expression.

But you are the first to have ever loved me back.

...

As soon as they all learned I was more than a human, without ever even truly knowing what, they well, youve experienced it. But we cant fault them for that.

I dont.

So, embrace it. Go showboat there like your usual self, and awe them by proving that you can be a proper moron and still ascend beyond humanity. Give them hope.

Dig a hole and bury yourself in it.

Besides, how are you going to give them gifts if you stay here on the mountain like a socially crippled hermit?

Has he ever told you what the world looked like in his eyes? Sylas suddenly asked, prompting Asha to wince in pain for a moment before replying.

... no. He never said anything. Why?

Tell mewhat do you see when you enter that settlement?

What do you mean?

How does that world seem to you? Hopeful? Encouraging? Wild?

... whole, she replied after a moments silence. Why? How do you see it?

Dark, cloudy, muddy, he replied. Hanging above everyones heads are tendrils, some thick and some thin, and when they snap

--people die. No wonder he didnt like crowds.

It is not even that, he said, taking a sip of wine. Its constantly being reminded that things converge toward a singular end. Young, old, healthy, crippled, sick there is nothing that lasts.

Waitis is there a tendril above me? she asked, and though he didnt say anything, the look in his eyes spoke more than words ever could. Sylas

I realised something only when the finality of it all happened, he added. Every single waking hour of every single day, there will be flickers converging from all corners of the cosmos into me. I will become a resting place for the entire cosmos, Ash. And when all things have come to an end, and the last of the living has died I will die too.

... Ashas eyes teared up suddenly, a surge of emotionspast and presentthrashing about within her soul.

Dont cry, he said, smiling lightly. It wont be the end. From my death, new life will emerge. And so, the cycle begins anew.

II really never knew. Never why didnt he ever tell me?

Probably because he loved you more than me.

Hey, she elbowed him gently. So, this ending is it any time soon?

Hm? Oh, gods no, Sylas burst out into laughter. Thats what you were worried about?

... can you blame me? she said, suddenly snuggling up to him, hugging his side. My eternity with you has only just begun. Id rage into madness if it were to end so soon.

Youll get sick and tired of me a million times over before we come anywhere close to that end, he said. Now, you ready to hike back down?

Not tonight.

... why?

...

Oh. Yeah, not tonight.