The world was ending. Again.

Tens of thousands of refugees poured through the golden mist into the city of Twin Fates. The golden cobblestone streets were packed with souls. Mia looked down on the chaos from the Queen's Balcony, flanked by dozens of handmaidens. They wore black, because Mother Ashe found it agreeable. Their eyes and mouths were also sewn shut, which Mia did not find agreeable. Such was the price of immortality.

Should I have held out longer? Mia wondered. Such thoughts had plagued her for centuries. No, I am happy here. I was happy here, when Zakx was alive, at least.

Zakx had almost certainly been destroyed, his soul consumed by one of the Fate Binders of the Elemental Plane of Dreams. It was a huge risk going to that Elemental Plane. Mia had known that there were Purple Dragons lurking in those lands. They wanted to advocate in favor of their own Elemental Plane, at the expense of all else. They had made themselves the enemy of Mother Ashe, but they had adapted to this danger by blinding themselves with one of the Firstborn's daggers.

Mia sighed. Her best friend was likely dead. No, she loved Zakx. At least sometimes.

"Mia?" The unmistakable voice of Zakx echoed through the doorway to the Queen's Balcony.

"An illusion?" Mia asked. "Mother Ashe, why do you torment me?"

"This is no illusion," Ashe said. She appeared out of some shadows in a corner of the inner rooms where Mia had not been looking, as was her custom. "I was forced to bargain with the Purple Dragon named Astrid. His soul has returned to my Domain."

Zakx strode forward out of the inner chambers onto the Queen's Balcony. The golden light of the barrier cast harsh shadows on his pale face. He looked her in the eye. "Mia, no matter what happens, please remember that I love you."

Mia froze in astonishment. Oh, right, he is not my best friend. He loves me. He has always loved me, even back during the war. Ingrid, what would you have done? What did you sacrifice for love?

"How touching," Ashe said as she strode out onto her balcony. She loomed overhead, eight and a half feet tall, wearing the skull mask of a horned beast. "Zakx, when I snap my fingers, you will forget that you love Mia. You will just be her best friend."

The Elemental Queen of Darkness snapped her fingers.

Zakx looked stunned. "Oh, Mia! My best friend! I live!"

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"I see that," Mia said. She was happy to hear Zakx admit his love, as she always was. She felt immeasurable pain that he simply forgot, as she always did. Ashe loved to torment her. She loved to torment them both.

Such is the price of immortality.

"What do you remember?" Ashe asked. "Be specific."

"Well," Zakx said. "I was a really awesome Blue Dragon! I sent armies against Mia's armies in the north. We had so much fun watching our armies slaughter each other. There were many great battles with much glory! But then Mia died and I was sad. And then the people in the north invented the airplane and proceeded to decimate my armies."

"Yeah yeah," Ashe said, "get to the part where you died. What do you remember of your death?"

"I remember a Purple Dragon, and I was certain that she was going to consume my soul."

"Details," Ashe said. "What Elementals could you sense?"

"Well, the Purple Dragon that I saw was bonded to the third High Daughter of the Queen of Dreams. She was also bonded to a Greater Spirit Elemental. There was a second Purple Dragon hiding in the Plane of Spirits. She ambushed me and crushed my throat. That was painful. Anyways, she was bonded to the third High Daughter of the Queen of Spirits. She was also bonded to a Greater Dream Elemental."

Ashe nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. Anything else?"

Zakx closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment. Then he said: "I sensed a Water Elemental, one of great power. It could only be a High Daughter of the Elemental Queen of Water."

"What the hell?" Ashe hissed.

"Hey, you asked!" Zakx said. "There was another person there, some type of bodyguard, disguised as the mortal child of a Purple Dragon. She was using invisibility potions! I am absolutely certain. She carried a bond with a High Daughter of Water."

"You better not be lying to me," Ashe growled.

"Reese!" Mia exclaimed. "It must be Reese!"

"Reese?" Zakx asked. "The commander of the Fat Meg squadrons?"

Mia tried unsuccessfully to hold back snorting. "Yes, that Reese was just a High Daughter in disguise. She had the real Reese inside her chest, in a box. You know, those boxes they made in Heyl with the brains and the hearts inside."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Ashe bellowed, in a voice that forced Mia and Zakx to fall prostrate on the ground.

Mia felt a fuzzy feeling, like some force of nature was preventing her from lying. "You did not ask, Mother Ashe," was all she could manage to say.

"Do you understand what this means?" Ashe screamed. Mia dropped her forehead to rest against the pale white tiles of the Queen's Balcony. "If there was a High Daughter of Water prancing around in the Physical Realm for months without me noticing, that could only mean that the Original Three made special deals that they did not disclose to us!"

"It must be so, Mother Ashe," Mia replied.

"Does the Elemental Queen of Dreams know that Reese is hiding in her Domain?" Ashe asked. "Does Astrid know that her bodyguard is really a servant of the Elemental Queen of Water?"

"Perhaps you should consult with your sister self?" Mia asked. It was a question that usually worked.

"Good idea!" Ashe said, then she instantly vanished in a puff of shadowy mist.

Mia crawled over to Zakx. He had not moved, and was still prostrate on the white tile floor. "My love," she whispered. "You do not remember, but you are not my best friend. You are my love. Come, let us enjoy our time together, while Mother Ashe is away."

"I remember," Zakx said.

Mia reeled back in shock. "Really?"

"If there is anything that Ashe loves," Zakx said, "it is deception."