The sun shone bright on the reflective peaks of the crystalline city. Like so many pearls nestled within a shady green oyster, the Apostles playground was a feast for the eyes. Built atop the canopy of the ever growing Stalwart Tree, the Ignatium was a testament to the Gods might. Six Unshakeable branches stretched from the tree's massive trunk a mile high, and from five of the six branches rose dozens of ambitious colored glass and steel buildings to house and support the Apostle families. Upon the sixth branch stood two marbled buildings. The massive hexagonal meeting place of the Apostles, the Heladon and the unmistakable circular shape of the Herundus, an arena where non-verbal disputes could be settled. With designs said to be inspired by the gods themselves, a better blend of nature's miracles and modern magical technology could not be found anywhere in the world.
This early in the morning, with the sun still low on the horizon, there was a clarity, a stillness to the air... like the world was holding its breath.
This moment, the seconds between everything and nothing, did not go unnoticed by one of two men sitting on the edge of the outstretched canopy. The man, took a large gulp of the moment. Sucking in the clean air till his lungs were full of it, and letting it out in a wistful exhale.
He was an unassuming sort, wearing unremarkable clothes and well traveled shoes. While the other man wore similarly drab clothing, he struck a far bolder figure. Leaning against the viewing platforms metal railing, his stern posture accentuated angular features, and steely blue eyes.
“What are you sighing about?” The standing man asked.
A shadow of a smile played at the sitting man's lips as his eyes surveyed the expansive secondary city that lay below. Thousands of houses, apartment buildings, plazas, shops, and way stations of a dozen different styles dotted the land. Land split by massive roots and river ways creating the outline for the 79 districts of Kaden City. As a cool wind died to nothing, the man's feet, dangling off the side of the platform, settled… and the distance between the Ignatium and sprawling Kaden City below was manifest.
“Infinity.” replied the pensive man.
“What?” Asked the other. His mind having drifted in the intervening silence. Gaze returning to his seated companion.
“I was thinking about Infinity.” Repeated the sitting man as he watched the sun disperse the windswept clouds below.
The angular man leaned back, hands pulling against the railing as his body mirrored the rolling of his eyes.
“Breaking new ground I see.” He quipped “You know, when you say things like that, it really makes me wonder how you keep track of everything… with your head being so far up the ass end of the universe and all.” The man's chuckle slowly faded into a frown as his seated companion remained unfazed. He let out a frustrated sigh before prodding “Well.. go on then… What is it about infinity that has you so vexed.”
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“Which…” responded the seated man.
“Huh”
“The question is, which Infinity. Not ‘what’.”
The standing man’s eye twitched, lips turning down slightly.
The pensive man continued. “I was thinking about the infinity that takes place between when one slips from this platform and when they hit the ground.”
The standing man paused, staring at the back of his companion's head before probing “Thinking of death, are we? You afraid?”
The sitting man's eyes squinted, thoughtful. “Maybe…” He drawled, “for a moment… But then… Bliss I think… All the way to the bottom… and beyond.”
The standing man stared at his partner's unflinching profile before pulling himself back to the guard rails to lean his elbows against the banister.
“You know Old Man, every time I think I’ve got a hold on how you think, it scurries away just as quickly.” It was the handsome man’s turn to stare wistfully into the morning sky, saying “Which is odd, because I should know everything about you.”
That inkling of a smile twinged at the unassuming man's lips as his eyes glanced to his companion. “Really…” He raised a quizzical eyebrow. “do you really want to know how I think?”
Without moving his head, the angular man shifted apprehensively towards his companion. It took a moment before he murmured “Surprise me.”
The sitting man shifted his gaze back towards the skyline, eyes a thousand miles away, voice taking on a lecturing cadence. “If you really want to know what a man is thinking, or what he’s going to do at any given moment.”
The standing man let out an annoyed sigh, head lilting back in irritation.
“You must only know two things about him." The seated man continued. "What he really wants, and what he thinks others want him to want. If you know those two things, you can pretty well determine what someone will do in any situation.”
“Really.” Responded the standing man, sounding farther away than he had before. “If you know so much old man, then what am I going to do right now?”
A full smile bloomed on the old man's face, knowing his colleague would not see it. He glanced over to where his companion once stood, then back down towards Kaden City below. He could see a swiftly shrinking dark shape pierce the waning clouds. He let out a chuckling breath through his nose before responding, “What I least expect.”
The old man sat a while longer, letting the air settle from the sudden commotion. Trying to recapture that precipician moment of earlier. But he could not. It was gone. The infinite possibilities of earlier had shrunk to a smaller array of infinite possibilities. He waited for a familiar feeling to come on. The feeling of responsibility bordering on dread that came from trying to bind the boundless, and bring an end to this continuum. But it did not come… A choice had been made… A beginning had begun. It was not The Beginning. But it was a beginning. One who’s end he could finally see.
He stood, grabbing the guardrail for balance as he did, then taking a step back to face the still rising sun. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a black stud earring and placing it in his ear. He closed his eyes to focus. A shimmering heat haze alighted on the platform in front of the railing, stretching from the wood planked floor to a foot above the Old man’s head. A bead of sweat dripped from his brow as a slice of black unreality split the air in front of him. A hint of fear lanced through his body as he leaned toward the rift, then a playful smile sprouted, as his momentum carried him through, into the beyond.