Abad returned to himself just as a great spiritual weight pressed down upon him. He tried to resist it, but there was nothing he could do. He felt his body crumble away and let go.

Then, everything went white.

***

White, endless light. He'd never experienced anything like it. It washed over him, and he submitted to it, letting go of everything. His worries vanished. He let himself sink into that place that wasn't a place, so like the void, yet entirely dissimilar. Unlike the profound emptiness of the void, which had been filled only by his impotent thoughts, this place felt... full. Soothing. After a time, he had no thoughts at all. He felt only sensations. And peace.

For the first time, everything was clear. His entire awareness expanded beyond himself, and he could hear a song. All of existence sang with energy. A hundred million songs echoed throughout creation, and he heard it. Each voice called out to him. Each unique, each special in its own way. He listened and understood then that they were all a part of him, just as he was a part of them. And there, far far in the distance, he heard a particularly pleasant song. It sounded familiar to him. His consciousness slipped along through the astral sea towards it.

He didn't know how long he was in that state. It was impossible to tell. But in time, something came into view. At first, it was a black dot in the endless white of the astral sea, but slowly, ever so slowly, it grew. Abad watched as it approached with interest. Before long, a human-like figure appeared before him. Her skin was bronze, her hair flame. She gazed upon him with a soft smile. Abad reached for her, she him, and as they touched, the world twisted, and the white sea vanished.

***

He gasped as a cold wind buffeted him. High above, the moon bathed everything in pale silver light. Countless stars shined brilliantly in every direction. He looked down. Under his feet was white stone, which continued forward for several paces before ending in a black line. He stepped toward it and looked over the edge. He could see the stone descend down, down, ever down, disappearing into clouds and mist. Between the clouds, he could make out terrain. Small dots of light shone here and there. He realized they were lights.

He heard humming behind him. Turning, he saw a woman sitting in a large stone seat. Her hair was golden and adorned with countless scintillating gems, which glowed beneath the light of the full moon. Her eyes, golden, met his. She had a sad smile on her face.

"Hello." She said. Her voice was melodic. Her golden eyes glowed with an inner light.

"Do I know you?" He asked. It seemed as if he should, but he couldn't remember her.

She stood. Her hair spilled across her shoulders and trailed down to the waistband of her robe. Her golden eyes gazed into his red ones for a long while before she spoke. He felt something deep within him at the sound of her voice. "Yes and no." She curtsied, lifting the fabric of her fine blue robe as she bowed elegantly. "I am pleased to meet you, Abad-Shai."

A buried memory surfaced. He reached for it, but it slipped out of his mind like grains of sand through his fingers. "I'm sorry. I can't remember." He bowed.

Her smile faded. "That is unfortunate, but expected." Her eyes searched him. After a time, she smiled and stepped forward.

He instinctively backed away, but after a few steps, there was nowhere left to go.

"How... How did I come here?" He asked, but there was no answer.

"I brought your soul to me to converse. I wanted to see the man that you became with my own eyes."

"Then you're..." she smiled. He didn't have to say it.

The Goddess stepped close to him and placed her hand on his cheek. He froze, unsure of what she would do, until her hands slid around his body, and she embraced him. She held him close, her head against his shoulder. His lips parted to speak, but before he could, her lips pressed to his. Her hands caressed his face. Her breath warmed him. It smelled sweet, of honey. Distant memories floated into him as he kissed her back. They fell into an easy rhythm as if they'd done this countless times before.

After several breathless minutes, she stepped back and clasped his hands. Her eyes met his. "That was my promise to you, all that time ago. One kiss for another. Do you remember now?"

"I... I do... A little."

Distant memories filled his mind. Visions of times long past. He couldn't quite make them out, but he felt them as they filtered through him, pulled out of the dark depths of his mind by the Goddess's touch. When she released him, he could only gasp. His heart pounded in his chest. Blood rushed to his cheeks. She felt so familiar. Her touch felt so familiar.

"You have been bound to the world for so long. It's inevitable that you'd forget." Her eyes turned to the ground, and she was quiet.

They stood looking at one another for a long time. He didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry for everything you've gone through." She pressed into him again, her head finding his shoulder.

"I..." Resentment bubbled within him, but her embrace made his resistance falter. There was so much comfort in her embrace. He breathed deeply, catching her scent. She smelled of flowers and sunlight.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"It matters not whether you accept my words. Your suffering is real, and for that, I am sorry." She kissed his cheek, and warm light flooded through him. He shivered. His skin tingled and itched.

He felt content with her in his arms. However, after some time, he spoke words that he didn't know he felt. "Why does the world have to be like this?" He murmured, his emotions getting the best of him. Long-hidden feelings bubbled up in him. "Why did it have to happen to me?"

"It was your choice, long ago." She smiled again, her eyes sad. "Know that you are not alone in your pain, dear one." She said as she took his hands. He shuddered again. "Everyone struggles in one way or another." She released him. "But we must endure it. To live is to suffer, but to not live is worse still."

"And have you lived, Elesara?" Her name. He remembered her name.

"Yes." She smiled. "Know that I have lived, Abad-Shai. Many times." She kissed him again, gently. "And know that I don't blame you. You chose what you thought was best. You've always been stubborn, and proud, and powerful, and beautiful—in all your forms. Also, you gave up your future for me, and for that, I'm eternally grateful." He saw the love in her eyes. Deep and abiding and timeless. "Now, it is time for me to do the same for you." She brushed a stray strand of hair away from his eyes.

"I..." He remembered fragments. He tried to hold them, but they slipped away.

"Worry not. What matters now is that I'll do what I must for all my children." The Goddess sighed. "This era is ending. I know you've felt it. Faye believed we had more time. Her brother knew time was short. How little time, he couldn't have known. None of them could. None but you and me."

"A new age dawns, then?" He asked.

"No. The end of ages has come. A god will be born tonight, and his advent heralds the final moments of this world. My children cannot survive what comes. Only you and your brethren will remain, and in what form, I don't know." She pointed to the east.

He followed her finger and saw it. A great black moon hovered over the land in the distance. Waves of fell energy poured from it. He could see the land below it crumbling away. Waves of black energy floated off of it. Everything they touched disappeared. It was consuming everything.

"Was that...?"

"One of my servants did what he could for the people of this world, and I supported him as well as I could. When he did, he showed you great kindness. Despite everything, he bore no ill will toward you. His compassion allowed you to come to me now." Her eyes filled with tears. "However, we failed. The divine beast will hatch soon, and this world will end."

"Is there nothing to be done?"

"There's one thing left."

"What are you planning?" He felt a wave of emotions.

"I'll use the last of my power to send as many as I can away from this place. I can't save them all, but I can save some. And with them, I will send you away. It's my final wish for you to live. You deserve to exist in a world that doesn't keep you chained."

A thought occurred to him as she spoke. A puzzle piece snapped into place. "You brought me back. You gave me the final push to wake up. You wanted me to be able to come here, didn't you."

A soft smile spread across her face. "I do give nudges here and there. You didn't deserve to be stuck in that little hole of yours. And I suppose I was a little selfish. I wanted to see you again."

Something arose within him. Words that were his and not his burst from his lips. "This world belongs to me. You belong to me. I won't allow it or you to fade from my sight." He felt his body shake as he spoke, and as the last word left his lips, he wavered. She reached for his hand and took it in hers, stabilizing him.

She looked away. "You're always so difficult." She chuckled and looked back at him. "In our countless meetings, you have always been consistent." Her laughter faded. "If only..." she trailed off.

"If only what?" He asked.

"If only we had more time..."

He watched for a while as the dark moon swelled and devoured more of the land. Massive black cracks appeared in the earth. It wouldn't be long now. He felt some consolation in being beside the Goddess at the end. However, her words nagged at him. There was something hidden within them. Something he could sense but not quite grasp. If only we had more time. The words haunted him. He turned them over again and again in his mind.

Time.

He had nothing but time.

"What chooses how much time is left?" He asked, his voice growing louder. The Goddess raised her eyebrows.

"You do. You're fate's arbiter. I expected you to choose conquest or rule, but you chose to heal instead of following those well-tread paths. Thus, the world is ending. Had you chosen differently, perhaps a few years might have remained before the events of tonight occurred." She squeezed his hand. "Not that I blame you. You deserved to heal in one of your lifetimes. I'm glad."

"What does that mean, had I chosen differently?"

"Had events unfolded as intended, we may have had more time. Not that it would have mattered. In every path I see, this is the end." She turned to him and smiled. "And I would never deprive another of their will to choose. You did what you thought was right, and you found love and friendship once again. That brought more warmth to my heart than any event I've witnessed in many years. If I could go back, I would let you choose your path again and again, and I would nudge you along all over again." She sighed and closed her eyes. "You've earned it."

"No, I haven't." His voice was firm.

"You do. I forgive you."

"I don't need forgiveness." His words were laced with venom. "Mercy. Compassion. Love. All useless. If they lead to this moment, with our world ending, I'll throw them away." A massive crash filled the air. The earth collapsed in on itself far to the east then swirled up into the growing black orb. He felt the Goddess shift.

"No." She glared at him. "Do not go back down that path. You have found a glimmer of who you were. Do not let it go."

He shuffled. Something in her words felt right. He'd accomplished more through connection and compassion in less time than he'd ever accomplished through manipulation. But, he'd been far too reactive. His life of late had been nothing but him being thrust from place to place, at the whims of others. He had to be more. "You're right..." He sighed. "But I can't keep being the man I've tried to be since I woke up either."

"What are you saying?" He reached out for her hands and clasped them in his.

"There is a balance between who I was and who I became. And that man is needed now. "

"I don't understand."

"This world is dead." He whispered. "But it doesn't have to be."

"Please, explain yourself."

"You said I was fate's arbiter."

"Yes. That's your role in this world. To create change and to direct fate."

"Then I can choose differently?"

"You could, but all paths lead to this moment. It's just a matter of when."

He squeezed her hand. She looked up at him, her golden eyes locking onto his. "You told me yourself. It's for me to decide." He smiled. "If so, then while the road behind me might be set, the road ahead of me hasn't been decided yet. So why couldn't I change it?"

"What's done is done, Abad-Shai. Even a being like you can't change everything. Now please, there isn't much time left. I don't wish for you to remain here. Live, for me."

"No. I don't accept this." He clasped her hand tighter.

"You can't do anything now. Please, go."

"I'm not going to lie down and die." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He kissed her a final time.

"Abad, all paths end here. I can't change it."

"But I can."