When the Stars Faded

Chapter 3

Cygnus stood in his chambers, Oulam's soul squirming in his hand. Cygnus released him and watched him bound around the abyss, whimpering hopelessly. Cygnus took delight in watching Oulam's soul bounce about, not for any selfish reasons but in a childlike enjoyment. Oulam charged toward Cygnus and phased right through him, coaxing a laugh from the young god. Cygnus watched Oulam struggle for hours until Andromeda called for his aid.

The circle of gods bickered over their plan to wash away man's immortality. Andromeda, Vega, Sirius, and Carinae all believed that if the plan wasn't put into action then man would never learn of their folly. Sun threw every possible point she could think of to dissuade them from doing this, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Cygnus emerged from his chambers and approached the circle.
"Goodness." Andromeda muttered, removing his coat and handing it to the nude god.
"Thank you." He muttered.
"Cygnus, Sirius informed us of the power of Ash, so we must ask a favour of you," Cygnus tilted his head and waited for Vega to continue, "We beg of you to split the very skies we stand upon."
"If you wish to ignore our pleas then we understand, but we require Ash, whether you use it or not." Rigel informed him.
"Do not worry brother," Andromeda started, "I can use Ash if you wish." Cygnus nodded and clutched the scythe tight.
"I'll do it," He uttered just above a whisper, "what will splitting the skies do?"
"With the power of Ash, Andromeda's magic and my control over the elements, we shall bring upon a storm that will wash away man's immortality and with it, their heresy." Vega stated, standing from his throne.
"Thank you brother, my sincerest apologies for bearing this burden." Andromeda whispered to him as he led him to the centre of the skies.

Cygnus dug the blade of Ash into the clouds beneath him and looked up inquisitively at Andromeda. He smiled down at the young god and rubbed his hand along Ash's length, imbuing it with a purple aura.
"I want you to run, drag that scythe along the clouds until you can't move." Andromeda told him, he nodded and looked over at Vega who smiled and nodded. Cygnus took a few slow steps and looked behind him to see the clouds parting, he giggled and began to jog along the clouds, building up into a sprint. He looked behind to see Andromeda with his arms outstretched and Vega following closely behind, hunched over and dragging his palm along the tear in the clouds. The young god loved the appearance of the tear and began to build up his pace even more.

After hours of running, Cygnus finally collapsed, his chest heaving heavily. Vega collapsed beside him, not as exhausted but tired nonetheless. Cygnus tapped his hands on his thighs to an unknown rhythm, shaking the last of his energy out.
"Thank you brother." Vega said after catching his breath.
"That's okay." Cygnus replied, still breathless.
"Very well done Cygnus." Andromeda called from in front of the two gods. The two of them sat up and watched him approach.
"If you would, Vega?" Vega bowed and sped down the length of the clouds once more.
"You did good Cygnus." Andromeda said with a kind smile.
"It was fun." Cygnus replied with a bright smile of his own.
"You... Are aware of what we've done, yes?" Andromeda asked. Cygnus lowered his head and nodded silently. Andromeda smiled a solemn one and bent down.
"Hop on." He instructed.

Andromeda piggybacked Cygnus back to his chambers. Cygnus had fallen asleep on the way so Andromeda placed him in his chambers and left quietly. He watched the Earth as children played in the rain and farmers worked in it. He retreated to his chambers and stared at the universe surrounding him. Twelve stars shone brighter than the rest, which immediately caught Andromeda's attention. There were only eleven stars and a black hole. He focused on Sirius, the star of Gemini, and noticed something peculiar. Gemini was created from Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, but lingering nearby was a tiny star that shone just as bright. Andromeda's breath became ragged, he held his pride above all else and such a big detail slipping past him was a worrying thought. He pushed all bad possibilities out of his head and just concluded that the binary star was a single being. Andromeda closed his eyes and crossed his arms. Overextending himself two days in a row left him exhausted, he needed rest.