Cenotaph of Bones: Epilogue (Patreon)

Epilogue

The window closed, and Wrath leaned back in her chair.  Pride was sitting across from her, his eyes shining blue as brightly as the stars behind him.  Their chairs sat above a constellation of stars that flickered as Pride stood up to pace the room.

“He isn’t growing fast enough.  At this rate, he won’t even make it to the East.”  The god turned to face Wrath, his perfect face showing worry lines for the first time in a thousand years.  “What can we do?”

“By the time they make it back to the surface, the other pieces will be in place.  Just give it some time.”  Wrath held out her hand and the window reopened, showing an image of imposing mountain peaks that stretched out of sight in all directions.  Thousands of creatures swarmed forward, following in the wake of something just out of sight.  “You focus only on one part of the plan because it shines the brightest, and forget all the others that have been staged.”

“ You think it will be enough?”  He waved his hand, opening his own window.  It showed a haggard Jim stumbling out of the gates of a dead city, uncontrolled undead running away from him to hide deeper in the city.  His four compatriots looked even worse, but all of them were still standing.  “Look how weak he looks.”

“He either will be, or he won’t.  All we can do is set the stage.”  Wrath willed both windows closed, and turned to look off into the distance.  “And how long have you been watching?”  Exposed by the goddess, a man with long hair twisted up in a high ponytail stepped into sight.  His body and hair resembled white marble, a sibling to Wrath and Pride’s perfect form.  The chief difference was the excessive amount of jewelry layered on his chest, arms, and fingers.  Each piece glowed with hidden power, making the solid green eyes of the man gleam in the darkness of space.  “What do you want, Greed?”

“What do I want, little sister?  I want… everything.”  His chuckle made Wrath frown, and the stars in her empty black eye sockets swirled.  Pride stepped forward, placing himself between the two.

“Is your part done?”  Pride’s eyes pulsed blue, and another chair appeared so the new arrival could sit.  “Tell us what you have in place.”

“Oh, you know me, big brother.  When have I ever failed a mission?”  Greed raised his hand to cut off Wrath, who was more than willing to list a litany of things that the god felt didn’t need repeating.  “An important one.”  Wrath sat back, her face returning to its neutral cast.

“So it’s done, then?”  Pride pulled a bottle and three glasses out of nowhere, and started filling them.  “You are sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure.”  Greed took his glass first, snatching it from Pride’s hand before he could offer it.  “The rebirth is complete, and the new creature is hungry.”  All three gods leaned back and sipped the drink Pride had passed around, thinking over the many plans they had laid to ensure the ending they wanted.  Wrath finished hers first, and her glass disappeared as she sat it down.  She stood and turned to leave, other tasks calling for her attention.  Before she left, Wrath looked at the empty space where the window had been, and mumbled something under her breath.  Far away, a whisper reached the ears of those meant to hear it.

“The Phoenix rises.”