"To what?" Pandora asked, feeling more frightened than before.

"Die," Apollo's voice had an unwavering quality to it. It was almost like he had practiced this conversation for millennia, but there was still a slight hint of fear embedded deep in his sullen eyes.

"What? Look, whoever you are, I do not want any trouble," Pandora said while backing away.

"I do not mean to die by the hands of you or me," Apollo laughed. "I wish to die naturally, of age."

Pandora was now more confused now than at any time in her two thousand year existence. "Of age? What does that mean? Are you some sort of alien?"

"Far from it. I'm just like you."

Pandora was shocked. "You're definitely an alien. You look nothing like me. What are those trenches on your face?"

Apollo cackled again, "These? These are called wrinkles."

"Wrinkles!" Pandora scrunched her nose.

"Sit down with me Pandora, and I'll tell you all about my life. We can watch star-down together," Apollo offered.

Pandora was terrified of Apollo, but this was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She knew she'd probably never get the chance to see something like this again, so she chose to sit down beside Apollo and gaze off into the distance.

"Pandora, I have lived for billions of eons. I am, in fact, the last of my kind," Apollo said with a somber voice.

"So you are an alien!" Pandora shrieked.

"No. I am more of a precursor. To you!"

"What does that mean?" Pandora asked.

"I was part of a people that led to the people that you know today. Back then, we used to call people like you the Undyings, and now look at the galaxy. Full of Undyings," Apollo said solemnly. He sounded reluctant in what he said.

Pandora raised her eyebrows in curiosity, "Undying? No offense, but I think you're being delusional! I can certainly die, for if a boulder fell on me right now, I'd be dead."

Apollo fell silent. He looked around as if he didn't know what to say when he suddenly looked at the two stars in the distance nearing the horizon. "Look there, Pandora," Apollo pointed at the stars as they began their descent beneath the horizon. "Soon, the great light emanating from those stars will falter, and a cool darkness will envelop this sky. That is what true death is."

"I have no idea what that means, Apollo," Pandora said unapologetically.

"Well, it's what happens if you keep aging."

Pandora's heart skipped a beat, "What did you just say?"

"When you continue to age past nineteen and onwards, you grow old and die."

"Die? Old? What does that feel like? Apollo, I can't tell you how many times I've thought about this! I feel like growing past nineteen is the next step in our... Oh, I don't know our story. There's definitely some greater beyond... If what you're saying is true, and you are old, then surely you must have reached some untapped potential that I am incapable of even perceiving!" Pandora went off on a tangent.

Apollo chuckled, "Well, I once lived in a reality in which everyone died. Us precursors, we would grow old and die. Growing old is what I have done. My body has changed in ways that can never be undone. I have become weak and frail. I struggle to do things I could do when I was young, like you. Still, I have retained all my knowledge, memories, and hope.

"When they had first created the Undyings, I knew that I had to become like you. I had never wanted something so much before. I wanted to never die, and I now realize it was because I was too scared to die. You see, Pandora, I was afraid of what I'd have missed out on. I was afraid of not being able to witness the progression of our species. If only I had known," Apollo sighed. "So when the plan for that city in the distance was created, I made the choice that would change my life forever. I took the Undying Serum for myself. For millions of eons, I had enjoyed the fruits of life. Soon, however, I lost touch with all my faculties. I became sedentary and uninterested in my surroundings, for all I yearned for was an ending to my story. It didn't have to be a great story, for everything is forgotten sooner or later. In fact, I'll bet you didn't even know that I helped create that city. It just had to be an ending. I, therefore, consulted the ancient texts written long ago for a cure to my sickness, and I found it."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Pandora had so many questions, but before she could say anything, Apollo picked up a small paper box from beside him. The inside of the box was glowing a bright yellow. As if whatever was inside was yelling at the world to let it out, Pandora couldn't help but awe at the box. On the sides of the vessel, there were simple blue images of a five-pointed star. "What is that?," Pandora finally asked.

Apollo also marveled at the box, gazing at it as if it was something that he had wanted his entire life. He held it high in front of the setting stars. "This..." He paused. "This is the cure." Finally, Apollo looked at Pandora and said, "If I consume the star inside this box, I will finally die. Sum quod eris."

Pandora grew annoyed. "What does dying from age mean?! How can you keep growing and then just die? When you grow, you grow! Nothing is killing you, so that doesn't make any sense."

Apollo lifted the flap of the box revealing the blinding yet beautiful light. "Dying of old age is the last page of your favorite book. It is the truest end to our stories."

"What is a book?"

Ignoring the question, Apollo smiled and continued, "It was once possible Pandora, but we never understood the beauty of it. Even after all these years, I still do not understand it, and I still fear it. Still, I am drawn to it. It's as if I was born for this moment... It is much like a great awakening just like you said." Apollo picked up a five-pointed star from the box using both of his hands; it was about the size of Pandora's head.

Pandora had taken a second to realize that her preconceptions of growing after turning 19 were mostly wrong. Apollo wasn't tall; he wasn't strong; he wasn't fit. Still, Pandora wasn't entirely disappointed, for the truth was being made clear to her.

The star shone brightly, and it was unlike anything Pandora had ever seen before. Oddly enough, Pandora felt no warmth coming from the beautiful star. The two sat there, atop the mountain, quietly for a while. They were both in awe. "Why here?" Pandora finally broke the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"If what you say is true, and that this star will lead to your death, you will cease to exist. You won't be alive anymore. Why on GATE23? This planet is as boring as the sand that surrounds that city!"

Apollo's hands did not falter as he lifted the star closer to his chest. "I would have died here long ago if I did not take the Undying Serum. I have returned here to finally be put to rest, for this planet is my home."

Pandora looked off in the distance to where the city lights were turning on. The stars that used to be in the sky were now halfway below the horizon, now. "Does it hurt? Dying like that, does it hurt?"

Apollo looked at Pandora with weary eyes and said, "No one knows. That's the point."

Before Apollo consumed the star, Pandora asked, "Where can I find these stars?"

Apollo laughed, "Oh dear, have I converted an Undying? I am not one to persuade you to follow in my footsteps, nor am I one to hinder you from realizing the untold truths for yourself. Pandora, deep below, in the caverns of Mount Past, a stash of these stars exists."

Pandora's heart beat faster, "All I need to do is consume one of those stars? Then I can finally learn the truth, like you?"

Chuckling Apollo waved his finger at Pandora, "No, dear. These stars will only increase your age by so many years. I had to consume five stars to get where I'm at now. I assume it'll take you the same amount.

"As for the star below on this planet, there are numerous entrances to the caverns at the base of the mountain, but beware, for the wild inhabitants of the mountain do not tend well to intruders. Horrid things, they are. If you're captured by one of them, you'll become one of them: a slave to some hivemind."

Pandora felt like her world was being built anew. There was nothing that was going to stop her from obtaining the remaining stars. She placed her hand on her De-Carbonizer Blaster holstered in her belt.

To Pandora's surprise, Apollo lifted his gaze off of the star and laid it onto Pandora. His stern face startled Pandora, for she had not expected such a look to come off of a dying man. "I- I couldn't do it Pandora."

"You couldn't do what? Are you having second thoughts about dying?"

"No. I am not. Oh, I don't know... In a different life, in a different time, I failed, and now? Let's just say that I knew that I wrought, and my fate will be one of agony," Apollo moaned. There was a pain in his voice.

"I don't understand what you mean, Apollo."

"Maybe you never will. I don't know. I already told you what you didn't want to hear. This is my time now though. I am sorry." Apollo lifted the glowing star to the sky while the stars in the distance finally set. Apollo whispered, "I could never get over star-down. Oh, I'll miss this."

Pandora saw tears streaming from Apollo's eyes, but he was still smiling now. Apollo crushed the star above his head, and it began to melt into golden sparkles between his hands. It didn't seem like the sparkles could be felt by Apollo. The particles drifted slowly down onto Apollo's body as the star continued melting into nothingness. Pandora witnessed as Apollo's wrinkles grew deeper, stance turned weaker, and eyelids grew heavier. Slowly, Apollo fell onto his back. A cold breeze drifted across the two as Pandora watched Apollo's breathing stop. Star-down had happened, and for the first time in centuries, Pandora cried.