Siren's Kiss

51: Of All That Has Passed Part Three

Ciel jolted awake, blinking away tears and sweat, his heart pounding as he found himself surrounded by curious onlookers. No one seemed to recognize them, their disguises effectively masking their true identities.

"Ciel! Ciel!" Drake's voice was thick with worry as he knelt beside his omega, who had collapsed as soon as they entered the Temple of the Divines. "Speak to me, love. Are ye all right?"

"I'm fine," Ciel managed, struggling to his feet. He could hear the murmurs of the crowd, grateful that Drake had been courteous and respectful to the elders. As the crowd dispersed and the temple returned to its usual calm, Ciel's nerves began to settle, though his head still throbbed, as if he'd been struck by a powerful force. "I think I caught a glimpse of oblivion for a moment," he told Drake.

Drake, ever attentive, listened closely. He sat beside Ciel on the temple floor, placing his coat beneath Ciel to shield him from the cold. The coat, a gift from the Amazon Queen, seemed to offer more than just warmth—Ciel wouldn't have been surprised if it were bulletproof as well.

"I don't understand," Drake muttered, frustration edging his voice. For someone like him, who despised the gods and their pompous ways, it was hard to trust the visions they had shown Ciel. But his love for Ciel held his judgment in check. He'd rather be cursed by the universe than lose Ciel's trust. "The moment we landed in this blasted timeline, you insisted on visitin' this temple first. Then, as soon as ye stepped inside, ye fainted. I thought ye were havin' a seizure, and I didn't know what to do!"

"How long was I out?" Ciel asked, more out of concern for the difference in time between oblivion and their world.

"Not long, but... what did ye say about oblivion? What did ye see in that damned place?"

"I believe I saw the past of the true gods—the ones who crafted the story of this world."

"Story?" Drake frowned, completely baffled. He'd never understood the gods and their cryptic ways. "What story, me love?"

"For ages, the templars, pirates, and sirens have battled for control of the Seven Seas," Ciel began, his voice steady despite the weight of his words. "Do you know that every world crafted by an immortal often ends in chaos, only to be devoured by Kali to prevent the consequences of fate? No immortal has ever managed to create a world so perfect, except for the Phoenix God Som, who kept resetting his world over and over again."

"Why?" Drake asked, genuinely curious despite his disdain for the gods.

"Because a world that succumbs to the consequences of fate, unable to find resolution, turns into a void. That void becomes food for another god, one as powerful and benevolent as the Phoenix God and the Dragon God."

Drake, while not fully grasping the intricacies, managed to piece together some of what Ciel was saying. "There's a god as powerful as those two? Blimey, the Dragon God's frightenin' enough as it is!"

Ciel sighed, turning to face Drake with a solemn expression. "Listen to me, I've seen things there—things I believe were unlocked when we arrived in this timeline. I don't know if this is Som's way of reaching out to me without directly intervening."

"I'm listenin', love..." Drake said with a soft smile, gently brushing a lock of hair from Ciel's face. "Go on," he encouraged.

"There's another god involved in this world. Nerevarus has a brother named Lexios. He's known as the Keeper of Order and Enforcer of Contracts. I believe he betrayed his brother and convinced the other gods to destroy the Seven Seas—our world."

"Well, I'll be a sea monkey's uncle!" Drake exclaimed. "Why in blazes would he want to screw over his own brother? Aren't they both gods?"

"He wants to consume them."