You jump effortlessly through the doorway and slam it shut behind you.
The sunlight is disorienting for a moment, and you shield your eyes. The temple around you has long since crumbled, and nature has begun to reclaim its ground.
Outside, you can hear ocean waves and taste the salt in the air. This was Greece. Some version of it, anyway.
"Well," someone behind you says, voice smooth as honey, "YOU'RE new."
When you turn, there's another goddess behind you. You know, because you recognize this one. Or rather, one of their alternate reality counterparts. They all had the same, flaming red hair, though.
"Loki," you say.
She smiles. "Ah! You know me! Splendid. I, however, don't think I've ever had the pleasure."
You return her smile. It was rare to find a Loki who didn't introduce themselves by playing with your brain a bit first.
"Sorry, I've met so many of you before. I was sure you must know me. I am Tyche, Goddess of Fortune, at your service. Just on a bit of a holiday from my realm. How are things here?" you lie.
Loki smirks, and there's a glint in her eye. One that is giving you PTSD from your last encounter with one of them.
She says, "Perhaps you could be of assistance. We need all hands on, at the moment."
Internally, you wince. It wasn't a question.
Loki leans against one of the broken pillars and says, "There's something wrong with the Gates to Valhalla."
Their Valhalla is your Tartarus. It's just their universe's word for the afterlife. Your godsblood runs cold, because you know what's next.
"They won't open anymore. For any soul. So, the dead are just...everywhere. See for yourself."
You look out at the beach where she's pointing, and there are hundreds of ghosts.
"What's the plan?" you ask, still looking out at the lost souls. Most of them are wandering aimlessly, and it breaks your heart.
You still feel things. That's a good sign.
Some of the ghosts have noticed you, and now they're staring. Probably not a good sign.
"We've got to find the last dragon. Only she knows where the gnomes are hiding. They are great with portals. I bet they could crack it open, easy. Your luck could come in handy."
Tiebreaker vote.
"Not to alarm you or anything," you say, "But is it bad that some of the ghosts have noticed us?"
Loki shrugged. "Probably not. I mean, they can't really do anything to affect this realm. All they can do is talk at us."
Your brow furrows. You see some of the lost souls coming toward the ruins.
"Maybe they've seen things that could help," you suggest.
Loki grins. "See? You're helpful already! Let's go talk to some dead people."
"After you," you say, and your companion obliges, leading you out of the ruins.
"Ah," she remarks, "I recognize that one, over there. One of the Arcane I used to work with."
Surprisingly, the man she's walking towards looks familiar. You wince as memories not your own flash through your mind. Time and space and multiple realities, remixing and colliding. If the Great Magi is dead in this world...You shudder at the thought.
"Loki," you say as you walk beside her, "It can't be good that Merlin is dead. You do know who he is, right?"
"Of course I know," she laughed, "He was a good friend. He died saving his family, which I can't blame him for."
"But without him—" you start, but she cuts you off.
"I know. Dire consequences and all. I mean, we've already had those." Loki gestures to the mass of ghosts before you.
"Good point."
It's still troubling, though.
As you make your way through the throng of ghosts, they stare wordlessly. They know, instinctively, that you are connected to them. You feel their despair as your own, and it's bottomless.
Trying to climb out of it, you ask, "So, who is this dragon you mentioned? Are they really the last?"
Loki nods. "Her name is Caesura, and she's the last remaining Arygetlan from our Avalon."
Earths and Avalons were almost always connected.
"What destroyed them?" you ask.
"Who else? The Shadow. However, Caesura was able to defeat it here."
Your eyes widen. This was news. In other universes, nothing has been able to stop the darkness from devouring everything.
"Hope is a fool's errand," you hear your father say in the back of your mind.
But you are not your father.
There's a strange hum now, where his voice was a moment ago. Like something rooting around in your brain.
(1/2)
"What are you doing in my brainmeats?" you whisper. You wonder if they can hear you, or if they're reading these words like it's merely a story.
Loki is still walking ahead of you, but time has slowed.
Images of people and places you've never seen flash before your eyes; a cacophany of words accompanies it, and you squeeze your eyes shut, trying to focus on just one.
"What is this place?" you hear a familiar voice say.
(2/2)
It's your sister, Noë. Your heart lodges in your throat.
"We're somewhere in the midlands," an unfamiliar man-voice says.
So, that's where she escaped to.
"Thanks for the heads-up," you mutter.
"Lusus," Loki says, now that the world is back to normal speed, "My old pal."
"It has been an age," he replied, "But I don't think I've met your companion here."
You nod and say, "Tyche, Goddess of Fortune."
He smirks, "Sure you are."
You stare the old man down. Merlin, Lusus, Bramlinus, Merys...whatever he was going by these days.
"I know you," he says, and his eyes brighten, "Why are you hiding behind a false name when you're exactly who we need to help us?"
Loki turns to you and raises an eyebrow. "Don't trust me, eh?"
For a moment, your jaw just kind of hangs open, but no words will come.
Then the trickster goddess laughs and says, "I wouldn't, either."
Your words have returned. Annoying, but you'll play along.
"Fine, yes. I am Makaria, but you can call me Mak."
"No shit?" Loki says, "Daughter of Hades? Big fan!"
You nod and apologize for the deception. "I'm sort of...running away from home. Father wants me and Zag tracking down mother and our sister."
"But you don't want to do that?" the ghost of Merlin asks with a mischievous grin.
"No. What the Shadow has done has corrupted even the realms of the dead. Despite my own madness, Hades is far worse. I believe he, himself, is infected with the sickness," you say.
"So, all the realms, including the afterlives are in danger of this?" Loki gestures to the dead souls surrounding you on the beach.
You nod. "The Shadow is consuming everything, breaking down the thin walls between universes. I think it's why my mother ran."
"Well," Loki says, "If Hades has lost it, it must be his fault the gates are closed. All the more reason to find the last dragon."
"Caesura?" Merlin asks, "Ooh, she won't be wanting company."
The trickster goddess throws her hands up in the air. "We're such interesting guests. How could she refuse us?"
"She won't. Well, maybe at first a little. You must offer her something. Information."
"What do you think we should do?" you ask the Great Wizard.
"Tell her what you told me about the Shadow. That fiend raised her before they made her kill her own family. Caesura will want revenge, and if you offer it to her, she will help you," he replies.
What a heavy weight to carry on the soul. You wonder if the last dragon is even more damaged than you.
Merlin offers to show you and Loki the way, though it is a bit of a hike.
(1/2)
You nod, accepting his guidance. If he knows the way, it'll definitely help. The fact that he seemed to have been close to Caesura will also help. A Dracan in isolation was like a ticking time-bomb. Who knows what you'd face if you were to go alone? Her magic, after all, might be enough to slow you down, and you need to keep moving if you're to stay ahead of Hades.
Loki gestures dramatically and says, "Lead the way, old friend!"
(2/2)
Merlin takes you away from the beach and through a literal ghost town. Everything has been decimated and overrun with dark, oozing badness. This world would fall completely to Shadow soon. You shudder.
"And who are you," a voice whispers, "To shun the darkness?"
There's no one nearby except you and your companions. Even the ghosts keep their distance, peering out broken windows and from behind abandoned cars in fear as you pass.
(1/3)
"Wait," you call out to your companions ahead of you, "Something is speaking to me."
Loki turns and raises an eyebrow. "What kind of thing?"
You shake your head. "I don't know."
"You've always known me," the voice replied.
You spin on your heel, looking in all directions. "You seriously didn't hear that?"
Merlin frowns. "No, my dear, we didn't. What is it this voice wants from you?"
(2/3)
You throw your hands in the air and say, "Well? What do you want, you disembodied creep?"
A laugh sounds all around you and gets louder and louder until you have to cover your ears. But the sound is inside your head, so it doesn't help. You fall to your knees, and then the anger surges up from inside of you and your eyes burn like hellfire.
"Enough!" you yell, slamming a fist into the concrete.
(3/3)
The street shatters, and windows that haven't already broken explode outward from the buildings around you. The Earth shudders for a moment, then stills.
The voice is gone, but your companions are concerned.
"This sounds like the Shadow's work," he says.
Surprised, you ask, "But what would a Primordial want with me?"
Loki slings an arm around your shoulder and says, "It means he considers you a threat. Welcome to the game, hon!"
Tiebreaker vote.
(1/2)
You travel through broken cities and over violent seas. As you and Loki are gods and Merlin a ghost, you didn't need to stop for mortal things like food or rest.
Caesura had taken up residence inside the Great Library of Alexandria, of all places. You'd think a dragon would want to stay away from such flammable objects.
(2/2)
As you stand outside the building, you could swear the statues have turned to stare directly into your soul. If gods had souls, anyway.
You squeeze your eyes shut for a moment and breathe in the Mediterranean breeze. When you look again, they're just statues. Nothing more.
Loki remarks on how well the library has held together all this time.
You tell your companions that the statues moved and Merlin's brow furrows.
"It seems Caesura has stepped up her security measures," he says.
Loki crosses her arms over her chest. "I bet I can get past them fine," she says, "I'm a god, after all."
"As am I," you say.
Merlin suggests that since he's the only incorporeal one, he should try to enter first. Can't kill what's already dead...right? You shudder and try not to think about that.
Merlin is insistent, so you let him go first, no matter how uneasy you are about it. If he is killed, you'll have no one to facilitate a conversation with the last dragon.
As he gets closer to the front of the building, the statues move again and one of them says, "If you have it, it hasn’t happened.
If you don’t, it never will.
It's a dream within your heart,
Where the magic lingers still."
Loki claps and grins. "What fun! A riddle!"
"So," you say, "Is it an object, place, thing, or idea? Riddles could literally mean anything."
"Reminds me of a song I heard once," Merlin muttered, frowning.
"I mean," Loki said, "Isn't it obvious? You have to wish for something to happen before you can make it happen, right? And wishes are a type of magic. I did pretend to be a djinn for a while."
It did make sense. But what would happen if she were wrong?
Tiebreaker vote.
Loki clears her throat and says, "I believe the answer you're looking for is a wish."
The statues bow their heads, turn back to their previous positions, and say, "Enter here now, if you dare.
However, you best beware,
Of what you will face in there.
The Dracan King has been alone,
Since Shadow rent her blood and bone.
If you want to keep your lives,
We suggest; don't go inside."
Frowning, your friend turns. "What do you think, boss?"
(1/4)
"What's the worst that could happen?" you ask, and lead the way in.
You hear your companions following behind you, and you can feel Loki's amused smirk and raised eyebrow without even looking.
"Makaria," that voice whispers again, "You're making a mistake."
But the voice doesn't control you.
And when the doors open and you step inside the library, every other thought is whisked away. This is a sight you never thought you'd see.
(2/4)
In most other realities, the Royal Library of Alexandria burned. The Seat of the Muses. The Museum. It had housed half a million documents from many different nations. There was even a zoo there, amongst the lecture halls and shrines and gardens.
Now, though empty of people and animals, it seemed to have acquired much more books and scrolls than any of its counterparts.
(3/4)
Your eyes scan them, hungrily, wanting to devour the knowledge within. Alas, though, that isn't why you're here. You're here to speak to the last dragon.
And there she sits; on a throne of books in her humanoid form, looking down with silver eyes at the three of you as you make your way to her.
"Who are you," her voice booms throughout the stacks and shakes your bones, "And what do you want from me?"
(4/4)
Very direct. You like her already. But you must be careful what you say next. You know madness like the back of your hand, and the Dracan King has the look of it.
(1/6)
"I am Makaria, daughter of Hades," you say, "This is Loki, daughter of Odin, and Merlin Ambrosius...but you know him already. We're here because, honestly, things have gone to shit, and we need your help."
The King raises an eyebrow, and motions for you to continue.
"The dead—if you haven't noticed—are stuck in the Bardo. The Gates to Valhalla have been closed and will not reopen..."
(2/6)
"...And though I'm from another universe, the Afterlives are my domain. I know I wouldn't be able to return now."
As you speak, the dragon sits up straighter in her throne. Her interest is piqued.
"We know that gnomes know a lot about portals, moreso even than the gods, apparently. Rumor is that you know where they're hiding."
(3/6)
"And you expect me to just...give you their location? How do I know you're not going there to slaughter them, Goddess of the Blessed Dead?" the King replies.
"First of all, that's no longer my title. I left that behind when I died, myself, and my crazy-ass father brought me back. Because, you know; Hades shit. I'm Mak the Mad now, baby..."
(4/6)
"...And I know you understand the madness that comes from your family slouching toward evil. I can see it in your eyes," you point at her, like she doesn't know where her own eyes are located, "Right there, in the gleam."
"Mak, maybe I should—" Merlin began, but you cut him off.
"Secondly, you're just sitting in a library, alone, while the Multiverse falls apart at the seams..."
(5/6)
"...Don't you want to *do* something? Don't you want to be a part of something good again?"
Loki snort-laughs in amusement.
If you had a mortal heart, it would be hammering louder than all your bravado.
The Dracan King regards you coolly for a moment with her silver eyes. “I do know what you mean. I had to kill my family to save this world. Unfortunately, our bigger goal of saving the Multiverse was never reached..."
(6/6)
"...I fear that everything you’ve told me began years ago.”
She stands and descends from her throne of books.
“Unfortunately, your intel was incorrect. The gnomes have all gone from this realm. They left not long after I lost my family, and my hope. However, I do know a way to get you to another universe. Perhaps you’ll find someone there who is better equipped.”
She motions for you to follow her through the stacks.
You and your two companions follow the Dragon King through the stacks. She pulled a key from her pocket. It was unlike any you'd seen before, but you'd heard of them; keys created by the creators, long before you were even a thought. Keys to move through time and space and between the universes. But they only opened specific doors, so you had to know where they were.
Apparently, there was one here.
"So," you ask Caesura, "How did you come into possession of a travel key?"
The King stopped walking a moment and sighed. "It belonged to my sister before the Shadow killed her. Before that, it was our grandmother's. Passed all the way down from King Nuada Airgetlám, given to him by the goddess Danu, herself."
Interesting. You wonder how many other keys had become heirlooms throughout Time and the infinite possibilities of the Multiverse.
River J. Hopkins