CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Countless stars, the cursed Hollows, the sacred Palace of Heavens, the Hall of the Dead, millions of living creatures. All these had ceased to be. The once glorious and immense universe had been reduced to a dying sun shining down (such as it was able) on a tiny chunk of Wa'suria. And on that piece of crumbling rock stood a smattering of burnt out trees, a smoldering cottage, a single angel of vengeance, a handful of demons, the Overlord of the Damned, an elder god, and his Cat. And in the darkness of an empty universe, the last comet raced the last chain of asteroids towards the remnants of a once proud world. Not that any of the handful of witnesses to the universe's final moments knew any of this. They were all too preoccupied with their own personal agendas to keep track of every little coming and going of the cosmos's death rattle.

Pira took Tod by the hand and spread her golden wings. "Hang on, Tod!"

"No."

"What?"

"I said, no. It's over, Pira."

"But..."

"But nothing." He looked deep into her black eyes. "I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of trying to find a way to keep things together." He glanced up at the ball of twinkling gray that was the sun. "I'm just tired."

"You can't give up, Tod."

"No. You can't give up."

Kalb grinned wider than he had ever grinned in his life. "So good of you to see things my way."

Pira stood between the Overlord of the Damned and the elder god. "I can't let you do this, Tod."

"Just how do you plan on stopping me?"

She snarled. "Damn you. You're nothing like Desaphanus."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I never claimed I was."

Her face fell blank. Truthfully, she was every bit as weary as he, and suddenly, she found herself carrying a burden too heavy for even her powerful shoulders. Something told her this was the wrong thing to do.

But it was a very small voice, and she had very little trouble ignoring it.

She stepped aside.

"Give me my Cat."

"Certainly." Kalb released the feline, who scrambled into Tod's arms. He stroked behind her favorite itching spot.

"Go ahead. Get it over with."

The Overlord of the Damned raised a massive fist to grind Tod's orcish body into blue paste. By killing the elder god, Kalb hoped to inherit Tod's nigh-omnipotence. More likely, the universe would simply cease to exist. While he preferred the latter, he could live with the former.

The shadow of his hand hovered across Tod's face. The elder god stared into death without blinking.

The demon's fist fell.

Pira's nature rose within her. Protecting creation was her purpose, and, weary as she was, she found her last ounce of strength. In a crimson blur, she caught the crushing blow. Her knees trembled beneath Kalb's power.

"Go, Tod!"

He didn't move.

With a tremendous grunt, she flipped the King of Evil high in the air. He tumbled a few yards before crashing to the ground. The earth trembled beneath his bulk.

"Tod, run! Get out of here!"

He stayed put and stroked the Cat.

The demons rushed forward. Pira met their charge with a furious rain of blows. She darted about in a streak. Within seconds, the lesser demons lay defeated before her.

Kalb groaned and began to rise.

Pira hoisted Tod in one hand. "I don't care how tired you are! I don't care if it's all going to end anyway!

Run, damn you! Run, or, by Desaphanus, I'll kill you myself."

She released him, and Tod found he could run very fast. He wasn't running from her. He was running for her. If she was going to fight tooth and nail, down to the last moments, then he would let her. If the end of the universe happened right now or three minutes from now it didn't really matter to him. But if it meant that much to her, it was the least he could do.

Kalb stood. His flesh sparkled with dark power. He spread his black wings and bellowed to the nearly dead cosmos. He dropped to all fives and stalked forward like the beast he was.

"Really, Pira. You begin to annoy me. I can admire a touch of stubbornness from the forces of good.

I've even found it amusing at times, but enough is enough."

They circled each other warily.

"I suppose if you deem it absolutely necessary, I can find the time to kill you once and for all. Actually, I think it only appropriate I give you one last thrashing and prove once and for all that you never were any match for me. Especially now that your precious creator is dead."

His viper tail writhed eagerly.

Pira snarled. "Are you planning on talking me to death?"

The Overlord of the Damned lunged forward, spewing a shower of slimy spit from his jaws. Pira reached into his open mouth and tore out his black tongue. Kalb's head jerked back with a horrible shriek. Foul ichor gushed from the wound. It splattered and seared angelic flesh. But she stood her ground.

She tossed the still squirming tongue at his feet.

And the battle continued.

***

A few hundred feet into his flight, Tod reached the end of the world. The last remaining chunk of Wa'suria crumbled inward. Pieces broke from the fragmenting edge and floated away, melting into nothingness.

Behind him, the last angel and demon raged with a fury that rattled the heavens themselves. Or would have had the heavens still existed.

"Great."

Tod backed away from the rapidly disintegrating edge of the world.

The Cat squirmed in his arms. She hissed at the approaching oblivion.

He turned from the sea of emptiness and headed back towards Pira and Kalb's struggle. Their conflict was as titanic as it was pointless. The Overlord of the Damned crushed her beneath his goat's hoof. She responded by shattering the limb with a strong right hook. They latched onto each other, muscles straining as they called upon every last reserve of their awesome strength. Wa'suria cracked beneath the pressure unleashed, but the combatants stood deadlocked. Neither would be the first to relent. When the cosmos finally shriveled away, they would be the last to go.

It was only appropriate, Tod realized. Good and evil locked in their eternal struggle until the very end.

Neither side could ever set aside their passion. Neither side could ever surrender.

Tod, on the other hand, found giving up very easy. He closed his eyes, leaned against an uprooted tree, and rubbed the Cat down her spine just the way she liked it one last time. Then he let go of the invisible tie that bound he and the universe together.

Freed of his resistance, creation gulped down its meal like a starving child. Tod's life force gushed forth from his body. It poured from his feet, filling Wa'suria with new life. Shattered ground reformed. Trees sprouted. Grass grew. The edge of the world slowed its advance. Streams of light surged from his body into the sky and formed bright new stars.

And Tod finally understood what he should have known all along. The life force of an elder god was finite but vast. Within him, enough potentiality for ten thousand universes dwelt. He just had to stop trying to hold onto it.

"Good bye," he told his Cat.

And he surrendered his being.

***

Pira grunted as she marshaled her power against the Overlord of the Damned.

Kalb growled as he stubbornly held his ground.

Neither noticed anything beyond their struggle. They were completely oblivious to the stars that filled the sky, one by one. The flowers springing from ashen soil failed to draw their attention. Even as full grown trees erupted from the ground, forming a lush and beautiful forest, they stared into each other's eyes with cold determination, blind to the miraculous rebirth taking place all around them.

The miracle spread, and the tiny chunk of Wa'suria slowly expanded into its former glory. Desaphanus's world reformed piece by piece, kingdom by kingdom. Within moments, every continent had grown back.

Every ocean was filled once again. Every city and village, no matter how small, shimmered back into existence, and every last detail, from the greatest mountain range to the tiniest pebble, was recreated.

Newfound strength filled Pira. The power surged through her limbs, tipping the balance of her struggle.

Kalb fell to one knee. His other leg slipped underneath him. She cracked him across the jaw, and he stumbled backwards.

From nothing, Pira's Silver Sword came back into being. She hefted it in the air with a triumphant grin.

Kalb snatched up his severed tongue and jammed it back in his mouth. "How?"

She leveled her Silver Sword in his direction. "Go home, Kalb."

He scowled. "Make me."

With her full power returned, Pira felt up to the challenge, but a gust of wind swept across the forest, putting an end to their battle. It lifted Kalb in the air. The ground split open, and shouting curses all the while, the King of Evil was recast into the Hollows as he had been so long ago. His angry cries were swallowed up as the rend sealed itself shut, disappearing without a trace.

Tod stepped from the forest.

"You did it!" She lifted him in the air and twirled about.

"Yeah, I did it," he replied softly.

Twinkling lights danced from Tod's fingertips and swirled over the remains of his cottage. The scorched planks reassembled themselves. Another burst of color shot into the sky, filling the sun with new life. It beamed down upon the reborn world.

The atmosphere sparked as the last comet and the last asteroids fell towards the world. Tod waved a hand, and their courses altered. The two heavenly bodies collided over Wa'suria, disintegrating into flaming dust.

Tod faded into transparency for an instant.

"What's wrong?" Pira asked.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just dying. That's all."

"But you can't die. If you die, the universe dies."

He managed a dry, mirthless chuckle. "Only if I die the wrong way." He looked up into the fresh blue sky. "I'm not fighting it anymore, Pira. I'm giving the cosmos what it wants."

He held out the Cat. "You promised to take care of her. Remember?"

Pira reluctantly accepted the orange feline. She awkwardly held it away from her body.

The elder god took a seat on a tree stump. "The Tenalpians were wrong. The imbalance wasn't killing the universe. It was the unrelenting strain on my life force. Creation on one side. Me on the other. Each of us stubbornly dragging the other towards nonexistence."

His body shimmered into a barely visible wisp of smoke. "It's simple, Pira. One of us has to go, and the universe isn't going to be the one to make the sacrifice."

"But when you're gone, who will guide the cosmos?"

"It'll just have to guide itself. It'll find a way. Desaphanus did a pretty good job with it. He just didn't know when to let go. That was always his problem."

"But it's not fair. You didn't create this. You shouldn't have to die for it."

"Who said life was fair?"

His insubstantial form melted away. His disembodied voice drifted on the breeze.

"Just remember one thing. She likes to be scratched behind her ears."

And then he was gone.

Reality rippled around her, and Pira found herself standing amidst the ruins of the Palace of Heavens. A tingle ran down her spine as shattered crystal rose in the air. Time reversed itself as invisible hands reconstructed the gleaming walls around her. Once finished, she and the Cat stood in the empty throne room. Everything was as it had always been, save one small difference.

In the middle of the great hall, an immense statue had been erected. The dragon of polished gold looked wisely in the distance with a pair of sparkling ruby eyes the size of great lakes. The work was a flawless reproduction of Desaphanus as he would always want to be remembered.

A mist rose before Pira. It clotted into an eagle-headed angel. All around, others were being remade by the hundreds.

Xyreen gaped at herself and the Palace of Heavens. "What happened?"

Pira didn't reply. Their would be time enough for explanations later.

"Thank Desaphanus!" Xyreen shouted.

The angels around them echoed the cry. It filled the Palace of Heavens.

"Thank Desaphanus," Pira agreed.

She stroked the Cat behind her ears. The Cat purred softly, swishing her tail with contentment.

"Thank you, Tod."