Nocturne

⭐ Epilogue ~ Aster ⭐

And they lived happily ever after.

Are you contented now, little one? You have heard the tale, from the beginning to the end. Or at least, as close to those things as these can be. I have let you rest here, and I do hope that you found yourself enjoying the story.

But now the tale is told. The story is over. The Chosen were wed, and they and their cities spent the remained of their life together in joy and harmony. Neat and tidy. That is the way you like it, is it not?

Perhaps I was wrong.

But either way, you can continue your journey now. Move on. Let the river's currents carry you into your future. I am sure it will be brilliant.

Why do you not close the book?

...

Ah. I see.

You are curious. You wish to see how this will end.

But you have seen. You have stood at the Brazier in a Temple of Sol and swum the waters of the Moongrove in Artemis. You have made your way through love and through hatred, through lies and through truth. All the death you've travelled through, all the bloodshed and the disease, all the grief and all the joy, all of it has lead you here.

Back to me.

Contrary to what many mortals may think, I am not Death.

I am merely one who no longer exists, yet is tied to your living worlds by the force of mortal faith, by my sister's grief, by my brother's hope. I am merely one who resides here, but I cannot leave.

That is where you- yes, you, little one- are greater than I.

For me, this is where my journey has ended.

But for you, you merely wait. You drift in a dream, caught between your own lives, between phases of your own eternal soul. You linger here for but an instant to me, though to your kind it may be any time or less than none. You think death is the end.

In some ways, you are right. Death is indeed the end. For me. For my glorious celestial siblings and for all those that compose us. And for the twins of artificial soul bonded to life by love and poetry and a hundred years with me to pay for every life they live. But it is not, I think, for you.

Is that what you are looking for? Is that why you wait, still listening as if the story were continuing? It is over, little one. It is all over.

I see.

I see you.

Stars burn with a cold fire inside of you. There is a kindness there, and cruelty. Intelligence and ignorance, passion and power and pride. So many different paths are laid out for you, paths of benevolence and malice like young shoots in the fertile soil of your future.

Which will you nurture, which will you hate? Which will you notice, which will you abandon? Which will you tread upon, which will you destroy? What will you do with this life of yours? Without regard to the lives behind you, what shall you do with the ones ahead?

Forgive me. I find you mortals very, very interesting.

Needless to say, this dream you are in- you must awake from it.

Of course, you must also take it with you. Take this story with you. Add it to the countless others you have seen, the infinite universes you have travelled. Even if you never return to this place, remember me. Remember the Chosen, remember the rulers. Remember Emmie and remember the unnamed fallen. Remember us.

I do think I will see you again.

This is the end of my story, little one. For good, this time. Soon the pages will run out, regardless of what you or I wish. But for you, this end is only one of many. No matter what, you will go on. You are strong. And you are eternal.

I do not have any influence over what you do once you awaken from this dream. Once you move on to your next adventure, and to your next life. I know this. Too well, I know this, and I cannot be with you each step of the way as I would desire.

But heedless of my mind's desires, my heart does bleed for you. I hope that wherever you choose to go, you will reach there with your hope intact- for you will reach there, if your desire does not waver. I merely hope that you will make it there and you will look back at the path you have tread with pride and with love, not shame and a shattered heart. I merely hope that whatever choice you make, it is the right one for you.

When you awaken, please, promise me. Promise me that you will look back at where you have been, and you will look forwards at where you are going. And promise me that you choose your path with true choice, and not through the simple loss of a choice that is inaction. Think about others, and think about yourself. Then, choose where you want to go.

Little you may be to me, but little is not powerless. More power and strength is in you than in any one of us who is more conventionally immortal. The greatest sorrow in these infinite worlds is that you brilliant phoenixes rarely realize this. At least not before it is too late. Make your choices, but do choose carefully.

My apologies. This is not the place or the time for philosophical soliloquies. Heed my words or not. Just know that they are genuine.

I do love you. Whatever that word may mean.

Our time is up.

Now, it is time for you to wake up.