Twilight of the Gods ✔️

Chapter 38: A Twist of Fate

Daeva looked at her mothers, her eyes darting from them to Nyx. Tristan anxiously smoked his pipe nearby, filling the room with a cloyingly sweet scent. She knew they were all waiting for her to make her decision, one that had equal chances of saving or dooming humanity.

"Time travel is nowhere as dangerous as Tristan says it is," Nyx said. "While he's right about altering the shape of the universe, he's certainly exaggerating when he states that it will destroy the world."

"My visions have never been wrong," he protested. "I witnessed the void, the never-ending emptiness at the edge of time. Sending her back is no light matter."

"Indeed, which is why I must let you know that this isn't the first time that she's gone back in time."

Daeva blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You're in safe hands," Nyx reassured her. "We've done this a couple of times already."

"Two times, to be exact," Cordelia added. "It's how we were able to narrow down the decision that doomed humanity."

"I don't remember any of it," Daeva admitted. Not that it would make sense if she did since her past selves that went back in time were two people outside of her identity. But it was mind boggling to think that at some point, she probably crossed paths with one of her incarnations without knowing.

The whole thing was very perplexing. What happened to the other Daevas, or rather, the other Evelyns who were already sent back? Were they even alive? Could all three of them simultaneously exist in the timeline?

"You've sent her back already?" Tristan was pulling out his hair in frustration. "And you want to do it again? We're certainly doomed. I thought there was a chance that even if you did send her back, there was still a small probability that the universe would remain intact. But the more you do it, the more that probability shrinks."

He smoked his pipe furiously, simultaneously enraged and anxious. "You've really done it, Nyx. You really hammered in the last nail on the coffin of all life in this universe."

Nyx looked at him impassively as a mother might to a child throwing a tantrum. "Your vision of the void doesn't mean that all life will end. Maybe it's just an end to your abilities. Magic runs dry without worshippers or mortal souls to fuel it."

Tristan glared at her. "I can assure you that my magic has never run dry. These are abilities I've had before I ascended and became an Elysian. I don't rely on influence over the masses, unlike some people."

While the two continued to bicker, Daeva was starting to question if either of them had the right idea about time travel. The offer that Nyx and her mothers made was enticing, but it bothered her that she was the third iteration they were sending back. How had her other selves failed? Was there any guarantee that she was going to succeed?

You need to think carefully about this, Anhel advised. I sense that there are other motivations at play, ones more selfish than saving all of humanity. Ask yourself what the others may wish to gain out of this. Remember that Nyx despises humanity.

Although Anhel was right, Daeva knew that Nyx did not loathe humanity nearly as much as she let on. While she was wary of the Lady of the Night, she knew that the God wasn't heartless. If she was, she wouldn't have let her meet her mothers.

Speaking of which, the two women were whispering among themselves while bouncing the twins on their knees. They seemed worried, but when Daeva approached them, their expressions brightened.

"Evelyn," Alexandra said. "Have you made your decision yet?"

"Her name is Daeva now," Cordelia said, lightly scolding her. "Isn't that right?"