Ezekiel paced around the counter. Over and over and over again for the past three hours. He didn’t sit down. He didn’t sleep. He walked around and around. Food didn’t even persuade him out of his trance, and Azuriel has been over many times with food from the restaurant to tempt him. Did he really need to eat food if he was immortal? It’s not like he was going to die if he didn’t. His stomach would call to him, but eventually that feeling of starvation would dissipate.

He stopped in his tracks. “I need to go to the library,” he said. He barged into his room and grabbed his blue cloak, slinging it over his shoulder. His hand hovered above his sack. Emry’s dagger was within, and it was still stained with her blood. He made the decision to kill her with her weapon. He hid it in his satchel, away from the prying eyes of the public. Away from everyone who might dig for the truth around Emry. He didn’t return with her all bloodied from a monster attack. He returned with her in near pristine condition. Her wound below her rib was facing towards him. To any smart person, it was clear that Ezekiel was lying about what happened. It’s why he had to rectify it before anyone found out.

Ezekiel brought the satchel close to him and exited his room. He rushed out of his house quickly. There was no time to waste in his house any longer. He had to make it back to the library before anyone awoke.

The morning light blinded him as he left his porch. He moved off of muscle memory alone. Down the path, pausing at Azuriel’s gated off garden to smell the flowers. Their scent was potent. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the beauty of her garden. If Emry was here, she would have loved it. It would have been the most perfect thing for her. A sad smile crossed his face as the thought crossed his mind. Since she was dead, she would be with The Last God, meaning he could still save her. He could reverse the process, or so he hoped. The library would tell him for sure. It had to have the information he seeked.

Ezekiel plucked a daisy and placed it in his pocket. He took a step forward. He could hear a door swing open from a nearby area.

“Where are you going?” Azuriel’s voice called out to him. She yawned loudly.

Ezekiel turned to face her, avoiding her gaze. “I’m heading out into the forest, like I do every morning.”

“You and I both know that’s not all you’re doing,” she said. Azuriel walked over and leaned on the fence. She looked into Ezekiel’s eyes, even though he tried to avoid staring into hers. “Be safe out there. I’d hate to see you next to Emry.” Her tail went through the gaps in the fence and wrapped around his. “I wouldn’t have anyone to eat dinner with if you were to go to.”

The corner’s of Ezekiel’s lips raised. “I’ll be back soon.” And so will she. He pressed his forehead against Azuriel’s. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” Azuriel turned around and walked back into her house. Ezekiel stared at her door. He waited for her to come back, for her to yell at him that he has to take her with. When she didn’t show up, he felt strange. He grew to love the company Emry offered on the journeys to and from the library. It felt strange to go there without someone to come with him. But it was his fault that he was heading there alone. If he didn’t kill Emry, he wouldn’t have to walk there alone.

A sigh escaped his lips. He turned around and walked towards the forest. The silver trees with their golden leaves beckoned him. He could feel the draw of the silver sap as he got closer and closer. It smelled like Emry. A soft, gentle vanilla with a hint of lavender filled the air. There was nothing he wanted more than to follow it to its source. It wasn’t her though. He knew that. Logically, it couldn’t have been her. She was dead. The sound of her sweet chuckles filled the air.

“Come to me, Ezekiel,” Emry called.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It’s not her, he reminded himself. But what if it was? His eyes shut tightly, blocking the vision of Emry out of his mind. Ezekiel covered his ears and fell to the ground. It only took one touch of the sap. He could be with her in death, if not in life. But it was his choice to kill her. So why should he meet her in death? He should do everything in his power to bring her back to life.

He opened his eyes. The figment of Emry was gone, but he could still hear her chuckle linger in the air. It wasn’t her, but it felt so real. He had to block the sap’s siren call out of his mind. He did for so long that a little longer would be nothing. It didn’t lull him with the temptations of books that held the secret to immortality. It won’t lull him with the temptation of holding Emry one more time.

Ezekiel walked forward. Each step he made was with a renewed confidence in his ability to bring her back because the library had to have what he was looking for. It had to. If it had information about The Last God, it would have information on how to bring someone back from the dead. If it meant he had to deal with The Last God again, he would.

He climbed over the rubble that blocked the entrance. As soon as he entered, he took in the sight. The library felt different. The air felt static, alive almost. It felt similar to the tree calling him. It felt like being in the presence of The Last God. Ezekiel looked around the library for any sign of it being there. Disappointment filled him when the static left the area.

He walked past the golden globe in the centre, pausing as soon as he passed it. The world, from a different time, hung on a chain in the library. It was what The Last God saw and cultivated. This world was The Last God’s. The world Ezekiel lived in was gone from times past. It was a foreign civilization. People fought over the knowledge in this library and faced punishment for their heretical actions. That is why The Last God took their immortality and created humans. Tralechs desired immortality, but could not achieve it without a heavy cost. It was their punishment.

“It took you long enough to figure that out,” The Last God’s voice called out.

Ezekiel turned around, glancing past every object to see where it was.

“Did you really think I would leave the Tralech who sacrificed his lover for immortality alone?” The air shimmered and fractured into pieces as The Last God materialised. It took on many of Emry’s physical features, but it had the blue fur-tipped ears and fingers like Ezekiel.

The tip of Ezekiel’s tail flicked back and forth. He didn’t expect the God to just reveal itself. He had to work to find it last time, so why did it just show itself to him this time?

“Why would you reveal yourself instead of watching me suffer?” Ezekiel asked.

“You think you’re smart? That you have knowledge beyond my omnipotence?” It snapped, and a throne appeared beneath it. The Last God’s eyes pierced through Ezekiel. He could feel its gaze ripping and searching for the answer.

“I never said that. I asked, why didn't you let me suffer and search for you again?” He bared his canines.

“Because you already knew where to find you. I might as well just make it easier on both of us.” It chuckled. The sound was like Emry’s chuckle, light and deceiving.

Ezekiel ground his teeth against each other.

“So you want your woman back, right?”

Ezekiel nodded. His hand hovered over his satchel, ready to open it and grab the dagger.

“Seems like a thing I could do.” It rubbed its chin with its thumb and index finger. “At what cost to you, though?” A smirk crossed the God’s face. “What about every piece of information you have learned from this library?”

Ezekiel’s heart dropped. He knew there would be a cost, but forgetting everything he learned? It seemed too steep of a cost, but it meant Emry could come back.

“No. That’s not good enough. What about the fact that you’re a Tralech, the very thing you pride yourself on?”

He swallowed. It was just a mind game to The Last God.

“I know!” It stood up quickly and approached Ezekiel in a flash. “Your memories of the girl.”

He looked into its eyes. It wasn’t joking about this trade. It found his weakness. Ezekiel felt his hands shake. If he couldn’t remember Emry, wouldn’t he have been better off not meeting her at all? She was the person that made him feel this sort of way, so why would he want to forget her.

“Deal.”