Twilight of the Gods ✔️

Chapter 35: The Winner

The twin suns slowly crossed the sky to cover the moon in a complete lunar eclipse. But somehow, even with two suns in her way, the moon still shone brightly, her rays peeking out from behind the two brothers in the sky.

It was on this fateful night that Nyx returned to Otherworld for the last time to judge the results of the game.

The Elysians crowded into the room, whispering in anticipation. Even Iris was present, asleep on a cot that they had wheeled in. They were placing bets on who would win and sharing stories of what Daeva did to each of them.

"She's going to lose," Julia whispered. "The cruelty alone makes her unworthy of the Board."

Ezra nodded in agreement. His head was fully reconstructed from the previous incident sans a light scar on his forehead that was still healing.

"But is that Haydn character really a better option than her? I always see him lurking around up to no good," Sabine said, leaning on Hubert's shoulders.

"He's the lesser of two evils," Julia chimed in. "Any option is better than her."

"I would caution against making these kinds of guesses," Hubert said. "It's not like any of us can predict Nyx's behavior. But only one of us can see into the future."

The group swiveled their heads to Tristan, who was taking a long drag of his pipe. He blew out a big cloud of smoke, stinking up the room with the sweet, heady smell of incense. His snake eyes sharpened, suddenly aware that everyone was staring at him.

"What?"

Vivian rolled her emerald green eyes. "If you could bear to put down your pipe for a second, you would know that everyone here wants to know who will win Nyx's game. Which God is going to get the Board?"

He frowned, already putting the tip of his pipe back into his mouth in defiance. He warned the Elysian Council about the impending doom in his vision, the end of all time, but this was what they were concerned about?

"The winner is never who you think it is," he said vaguely. He kept his eyes trained on Ezra, who glared at him for his vaporous response.

"So is it Daeva or Haydn?" Julia leaned forward, hands gripping the table as if she was going to pry the answer from his brain.

"We'll find out soon enough," he said. He sucked in the smoke, desperately trying to suppress his anxious tremors.

The Lady of the Night materialized before them, silencing their talk. The air in the room grew significantly colder, almost resembling the climate of the Ylivian mountains. But it never snowed in Otherworld, not unless one of the Elysians was missing the chill of the North.

Her eyes were darker this time if that was even possible. She was paler too, her skin rivaling the alabaster of the angel statues around the palace. But none of these features made her look weaker like they would on ordinary mortal flesh. If anything, the harsh contrast between her skin and eyes made her seem deadlier. Poisonous, even.

"Gods and Elysians," she said, flashing her infamously wide smile. "Elysians and Gods. Welcome to the judging of the last round of the game. Will the Gods please step forward?"

Daeva and Haydn walked to Nyx unwillingly, pulled in by a magnetic force. She summoned a scale from thin air, its dark metal barely shining in the moonlight save for the sparkling bits of onyx that decorated the base. She reached into their chests, pulling out their glowing souls with ease before setting them on top of pans on opposite sides of the scale.

"To judge who is most worthy of the Board, I will be weighing these godly souls on the Sin Scale. The heavier the soul, the graver the sins, and the less worthy the God is of my gift. Watch, my dear Elysians, to see who may join your ranks."