The Ascension

23: Maybe a bad idea

 "Oh." Wren said.

"Now then." Eii said, walking forward. "No need to spend any more time on this dying planet, is there?"

She swiped her hand twice, first seizing the humans with some otherworldly force, and second to change the environment in an instant. They were in a new, steel sort of environment so fast their eyes stung from attempting to readjust.

Aster didn't let go of her friends' hands until she was sure the ground was real. Slowly, sensory details came to her, delayed by a soft hum of popped ears. This was probably some space craft. Judging by the searing lights and square halls, Aster would assume it to be Artemis'- but maybe all spaceships looked the same. Even with semi-godly powers of omnipotence, she still lacked a frame of reference.

Aster opted not to say anything to Eii. It felt like she had been through this too many times already, the waiting and asking if things were over. Eii would probably start talking if left for a while in silence anyway- probably even if no one else was around.

Wren and Senya, the lately rather useless boys that they were, began to wildly look about their new environment, peering at the odd architecture and lights. At one point, Wren motioned for Senya to look at a small niche he found and the particularly odd electronics inside. Every so often, they looked back at the girls. Waiting, distracted, for one of them to speak.

Eii was smiling. It was a small and light smile, one perhaps expected to go alongside a phrase like 'good morning' or 'have a nice day'. Her eyes, a pink to match her skin, were wide and bright. She tilted her head with good manner.

Aster stared Eii down until she was forced to grin harshly- but then she swallowed that. She fell to a simpler tone. Gave in to the silence.

"What was all that about then?"

Immediately, Senya joined in, gripping Aster by her shoulder but speaking cautiously from behind her back. "Is- Are they dead? Like really dead? How can you do that?"

"You can't do that." Wren added with a confused emphasis.

"They died a death. Everything dies like everything is born." Eii stepped forward, her shoes making a distinctive clacking sound as she did so. "Remember this, perhaps, as a guide for life: We are all going to die one day, and it's not going to be in order." She paused. "I'm afraid I don't quite get your question. Were you asking why death occurs?"

"Ikina was a god. They shouldn't have been able to just- fall down like that. And die." Aster said.

Eii waved off her words. "See my previous point! Everything dies."

"Can you die?"

"You sound like you're challenging me, but I do hope you recognize how useless an idea that is. I can die and I can't die, and it really isn't worth an attempt to determine if I'm telling the truth." Eii's smile had fallen slightly, but she propped it up again, practiced. "Ioro is dead. We still have business to condu-"

"No." Aster said.

"We had a deal."

"No."

"You didn't shake on it." Wren added, trying to be helpful in a situation that didn't need his presence.

"Why would a verbal agreement rely on the clutch of a physical signing?" Eii gritted her teeth between smiles. "Aster. Ioro is dead. I didn't kill him. He was simply dying, and then he was dead. Without him, your world is going to collapse."

"No."

"'No?' What are you protesting anyways? You think a world can support itself without a patron god?"