Shattered Skies: The Morning Lights

CHAPTER 62: Suddenly

"So, this is it, then."

"Yes, by all accounts, this is the proverbial 'it'."

"Which proverb would that be from, exactly?"

"Must it be from a specific one?"

"Point taken."

"Quite."

"Somewhat of a pity, isn't it? I shall be sad to see it go."

"Really? You don't think it dragged on a bit long?"

"Perhaps just a bit long..."

"Yes, just a bit."

"A smidge."

"A trifle."

"But now, to think of it..."

"Hmm?"

"It is going to go, isn't it? It's quite inevitable. The question is, where?"

"Where will it go?"

"Yes, where will it go?"

"Well, where does a dream go when the dreamer awakens? Where does a name go once it ceases to be spoken?"

"Unusually poetic, for you."

"Clearly, you've been an influence on me."

"A good influence, or a bad influence?"

"Both."

"Oh, of course, both. I wonder..."

"Hmm?"

"Do they remember us, after all this time?"

"I suspect not. We only appeared once, all that time ago from their perspective. Just for a few moments before we sent them on their way. Those two we saved didn't even see us, or hear our names. Never even woke up."

"No, not those two. Them."

"Them?"

"Yes, them."

"Well, they can hear us right now, can they not?"

"One would assume so, yes. After all, the final Act hasn't properly begun yet, yet here we are."

"And here we are not. Regardless. Shall we send them off, then?"

"Yes, a proper send-off. Excellent idea, my dear."

"Thank you. Yes, I think a musing on a particular paradox would be appropriate here."

"A paradox?"

"Yes, a paradox. For it's a well-known aphorism that nothing lasts forever."

"No, nothing. People die, stories end, empires crumble, planets crack apart, and even the stars fade out."

"And yet..."

"And yet?"

"Despite the fact that nothing ever lasts forever..."

"... So it is also true that nothing ever truly ends. Was that what you meant to say?"

"Of course."

"So with that in mind..."

"... as the final Act begins..."

"... a toast. To the end."