FATE\Deus Decipit

Chapter 46: Heaven and Earth

9:40pm

Heping laid on the ground in the midst of the garden. The crisp fog and autumn air pricked her skin as the waning moon rose higher in the sky. The lights from the city drowned out the stars, and she could hardly see many of them, certainly not as many as she could at her parent's mountain home. But it wasn't so much the act of stargazing, but the fact of it that kept her tired smile on her face. Somewhere in her training with Pigsy, she couldn't say why, but it finally dawned on her that, as long as she was here, in Athens, away from her parents, she could do as she pleased. Shenghuo could chastise her all he liked, but his praise didn't matter anymore: they were enemies, if only for the sake of the war. So long as she could still beat him when things were down to the wire, did his opinion matter at all?

It was a revelation both liberating and troublesome for one so accustomed by the beck and call of others, but one that her tired mind was still incapable of processing. She felt it on her heart, and on her breath, but had neither the time nor energy to understand or develop the implications of such a situation, as she'd truly never obtained such freedom, and had hardly ever dreamed of it to begin with.

The other issue pressing on her heart and breath was Pigsy's round bottom. He sat cross-legged on her stomach, looking at the sky just as she was. He claimed that this was to train her breathing, but she saw little reason to believe that. Although surely his Servant body wasn't half as sore as her mortal one, they had still dueled for several hours, and she could perceive that he was tired as well. He craved rest, and, more so, she thought, he craved company- though his pride would never have him admit as much.

She reached over and began petting the top of his head, primarily with her thumb and forefinger. She had half-expected him to swat her hand away, but, while she felt his body tense at first, he neither said or did anything to stop her; he continued to stare into the vacant sky.

Until-

"Oi."

Heping gazed down at the pig sitting on her belly, "What is it?"

"Has the sky always been this dark? Ya can't see a single star."

She returned her gaze to the sky, "The lights of the city block out the stars. It is not so bad if you can get far enough away, but, even so, I imagine it could still not be the same as the sky you knew."

He grunted in response, but said nothing.

"Pigsy?"

"Don't call me Pigsy. What is it?"

"Is it true that Heaven used to be in the sky? In the stars?"

Even as one mostly unfamiliar with magecraft, she was still aware of a central doctrine of mage history: the Reverse Side of the World. Long, long ago, in the Age of Gods, spirits, monsters, and even gods roamed the Earth. Heaven and Hell were said even to be physical places one could visit, assuming he could find the entrance. Now, those mystics were gone, with only their shadows remaining.

"...Yeah, I guess. I couldn't tell you where or how it worked, but I can tell you a few things. I can tell ya that I fell from Heaven and landed on Earth, and I can tell ya that, whenever I looked at the sky, I could see the palaces of the celestial emperors."

"I am sorry."

"Huh? Sorry for what?"

"I am sorry that you cannot see your home anymore."

He waved his hand, "Bah! It's probably for the best anyhow. It helps me to keep focused. I can't win this damn war if my head's stuck in the clouds."

"But is that not why you fight? Did you not say that returning there was your goal?"