ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

1. The End

Korno stood in silence on the edge of a cliff overlooking the desolate, barren alien landscape that stretched out into the horizon beneath him. The southern wind made his long dark mane and beard flutter, along with the edges of the saffron robe that covered his body. Looking up towards heaven, Korno stared into the ocean of stars that looked down at him. The stars, the galaxies and the constellations that he set his eyes upon were unknown to Korno. Then again, that's how it was supposed to be. They were hiding somewhere in an unknown corner of the universe; far...far away from home.

The war had all but ended. His side was on the verge of total defeat. Even a few hundred years ago, contemplating such a possibility would have been considered madness. That reality was now unavoidable. Defeat was imminent. But Korno knew it was not quite over yet. In one last attempt to stop the enemy, Korno's master, Yagyavalkya had assembled perhaps the deadliest weapon that the universe had ever known. And now that it had been unleashed, Korno realised it was too late to change his mind. All that remained to be seen was whether it succeeded.

Breaking his chain of thoughts, Korno looked over his shoulder. Atop the black mountain behind him, there flickered the faint glow of fire from within the cave, where he had left his master to rest. Sensing he was being summoned, Korno slowly made his way back. The cave was long and narrow. Stepping inside, Korno looked around to ensure they were still alone. Then, as silently as he could, he walked towards the light of the fire.

"Master...?" Korno whispered, as he reached the old man lying next to the fire.

Yagyavalkya opened his eyes and struggled to sit upright. Wrapping himself with a thin white piece of cloth, he sat with his back against the wall.

"We've failed," Korno heard the old man rasp, "The weapon did not work as expected."

Korno was moved to dumb silence at this revelation. He observed his master's face. He was gazing into the flames, burning between them.

"How do you know, Master?" Korno asked.

"We are still here, aren't we? Humans live on." The old man answered in a calm voice, still gazing into the fire.

"But how, Master?" Korno asked, unable to hide his disbelief.

"That question is no longer relevant. We've lost this war. Shubhankor has won. It is time you accept that reality." replied his master, resigned.

Korno sat down in front of his master. For a while they had been aware that the tides of the war had changed against them. But actually hearing his master, the person who had taken the lead to stop Shubhankor admit defeat like that was not something Korno was able to grasp.

"Do not dwell in the past. Do not blame yourself," the frail voice of the old man resonated in the ears of his young disciple, "You were present there when it all started. You both were. If someone is to blame, that person can only be me."

Korno knew exactly what his master was referring to. But even now, he felt compelled to defend this old man, even if it was against self recrimination, "It was not you but Gargi who sinned that day, Master. You never answered."

"No I didn't. But my hubris ensured that everyone present there knew that I knew. And therefore, there is an answer." Yagyavalkya replied, "And before you criticise her Korno, ask yourself, how were Gargi's actions back then any different from what we have just done today? She had but one chance to defeat me and be proclaimed the wisest amongst us all. Gargi took it. We also had one chance to stop Shubhankor. We took it. That day, she asked me that question, knowing well that both of us are forbidden to answer it. And today we unleashed this abomination of a weapon, hoping that what we were trying to achieve through it, in sheer scale and inhumanity, would be so unimaginable that our enemy would not see it coming."