Indenuel grabbed Tolomon’s arm, trying not to give in to fear.

“You think the Savior cares for someone like you?” Garen asked.

Indenuel closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing.

“Indenuel?” Tolomon asked.

“He doesn’t. Because he is not the perfect Savior everyone hopes for. He is human. Just like you. Everyone thought you would be this grand, holy person, but look at you. Hardly able to sit straight in your saddle. Willing to slaughter hundreds of people, thinking you’re in the right.”

“Indenuel, please talk to me. You’re scaring me,” Tolomon said.

“What makes you think your version of the Savior is any different from the thousands of people who have this vision of what you were supposed to do. You just don’t get it. You haven’t seen the end of days.” Garen disappeared before his voice was right next to his ear. “The Savior isn’t going to save the world, he’ll go insane and try to destroy it. And I and the legions of my followers are the only ones that will stop him. It is me that should be your master. Not him. Save this world by following me.”

Indenuel let out a shaky breath, the tears filling his eyes. “I can’t believe a word you’re saying. You’re the devil. You’re the master of lies.” He was off his horse before he realized what was going on. He was in such a state of panic that he was barely aware of Tolomon tying him to a tree.

“You yourself are a great liar, are you not? The best lies are the ones that only withhold small details.” Garen asked.

Indenuel began to cry. “That drastically changes what I’m talking about. That’s the point of a lie. You are a liar. I cannot believe you.” Tolomon finished tying him to a tree before slicing open his shirt, checking the mark before placing the blade against his throat.

“Don’t you dare sell your soul to him. Don’t you dare make me kill you,” Tolomon said, his voice betraying his anger and hurt.

“The Savior will try to destroy the world. He will go mad and try to kill everyone, ending with himself. He will be captured and killed before he succeeds, and I will have fulfilled my purpose as the true Savior of this world.” Garen opened his palms, smiling. “Everything I told you is correct.”

Indenuel gasped for air, staring at Garen with wide, horrified eyes. “Look at me, Indenuel!” Tolomon shouted. “Keep your eyes on me! Do not listen to a word the devil says!”

“I killed the Gods because They were going to allow this. Allow the Savior of the world to destroy this beautiful planet. The Gods aren’t merciful. They take. And They destroy,” Garen said.

Indenuel tried to remember the Divine Ages. Tried to think of what was said at the end. Didn’t it say the world would end? “The… the sky. Covered… covered in stars…” Indenuel said between uneven gasps.

“Look at me, Indenuel!” Tolomon said, trying to grab his chin. “Don’t do this. Don’t you dare follow him. He will give you nothing but pain for the rest of eternity.”

“Ah yes. The stars. You mean the remains of the other planets the Gods destroyed?” Garen asked. He snapped his finger, and Indenuel was there, in the darkness. Not darkness. A part of the sky he’d never seen before. Was he in the sky? In the heavens themselves?

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It was covered in debris, floating aimlessly. Crashing into each other. Breaking apart, yet no sound. There were so many stars. How could there be this many stars in the sky? There seemed to be clouds, yet they weren’t clouds. It wasn’t just a black sky, but he saw black and blue and red and gold. The sky was a multicolor place full of glittering stars and Indenuel couldn’t breathe. It was chaos, it was destruction. His mind started to break.

“The Gods have done it before. Your planet would have been next if I didn’t stop Them,” Garen said.

Tolomon slapped him. Indenuel found himself back in his body, kneeling on the ground, his hands tied behind the tree. Tolomon was holding his head steady, and the dagger even steadier.

“Look at me!” Tolomon said, the most command he had ever heard from his friend. Indenuel did, because Garen disappeared. “Do not follow him. He has had centuries of practice to know how to deceive. You cannot listen to a word he says.”

“Liars…” Indenuel said. “All of them liars and hypocrites.” Tolomon kept the dagger pressed against Indenuel’s throat. “He says the truth most of the time, just like me. I’m a liar. I’m a hypocrite.” Indenuel closed his eyes. “What if he’s right?”

“He’s not,” Tolomon said, even though he hadn’t heard the conversation, yet there was still conviction in his voice. “He never has. You cannot believe him.”

“I’m going to Hell. For the rest of eternity, I’ll pay for my sins with torment and pain. But it’s better than going to heaven. The empty heaven of destruction and chaos. To build then destroy. That’s all They do. That’s all anyone on this world has done.” Indenuel wasn’t sure what he was saying. He was in such a state of panic that a dagger pressed against his throat wasn’t the top of his list of terrifying things. “What does it matter. What does anything matter? I’m going to die. Worlds have existed and been destroyed. How many people have already lived. What’s the point?” Indenuel panted. “Why does anything matter? It doesn’t. It doesn’t matter if you slit my throat. Nothing matters. Nothing ever has.”

An entire waterskin was dumped on his head and Indenuel gasped, sputtering as water got in his mouth. He blinked, looking up at Tolomon, concern etched on every worried line of his face. “It matters to me if I slit your throat.”

The sob Indenuel kept inside finally broke through. He became aware of many things. He was on his knees, his arms cut up and bruised from sliding down the trunk of the tree. His wrists took the brunt of his exhaustion, holding him up, the ropes cutting into him. He was breathing like he had run all day and had finally stopped to rest. The one thing he didn’t feel was the dagger at his throat, but he felt the sting where the skin had cut open, a trickle of blood running down his neck.

“Holy shit, what did the devil say to you?” Tolomon asked.

Indenuel continued to sob. How could he possibly explain it? How could he explain to Tolomon about the chaos of the heavens? Tolomon was on his knees, lifting Indenuel’s shoulders to keep the pressure from his tied wrists before he hugged him, keeping him upright.

“If I could, I would punch the devil right in the face,” Tolomon said. Indenuel was still trying to steady his breathing. “I’m sorry. I’m no religious scholar. I can give you no words of comfort to counteract the devil, other than you cannot believe a word he says.”

“Religion has never given me any comfort,” Indenuel said through his sobs. “Nothing ever has.”

“Yes, yes there has. No one can survive this long without something that has given them comfort. What is it?” Tolomon said, still hugging Indenuel. “Tell me what gives you comfort.”

Indenuel was sputtering, trying to think. Working through the panic. “Mother.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Matteo.” His breathing was calming. “Emilia. Isla.”

“They love you, Indenuel. They always have, they always will.”

Indenuel felt more tears fall down his cheeks. “How much longer will that love last? I saw the heavens. If eternity is chaos and destruction-”

“The devil’s eternity is chaos and destruction,” Tolomon said. “Whatever he showed you, that’s not heaven. That must have been hell. Do not believe him.”

Indenuel pressed his forehead against Tolomon’s shoulder. His breathing was easier, the panic not nearly as animalistic. “I’m cracking, aren’t I?”

Tolomon squeezed him harder. “You’re a boy. Dammit, you’re just a boy. The weight of the world would make the best of us crack.”

“I’m so tired. So tired,” Indenuel said.

“Then sleep. For as long as you need. I’ll stand watch.”

Indenuel wasn’t sure if Tolomon cut the ropes keeping him to the tree. All he knew was the moment Tolomon assured him he would stand watch, his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep. He couldn’t describe it, other than to acknowledge that Tolomon, too, brought him comfort.