The darkness seemed to stretch forever, the stars above burning like distant beacons. Amina stood on the precipice, feeling the weight of the world pressing down on her shoulders. The landscape before her was eerily quiet, the sea calm and unblinking beneath the inky sky. Yet, she could sense the storm that was coming—the tempest that would change everything.
Lumeah had disappeared into the mist hours ago, leaving Amina and Valec alone at the edge of the world. They had talked little since their last conversation. There was too much at stake now. Every word, every decision carried the weight of fate itself.
Valec sat beside her, his eyes locked on the horizon, where the darkness seemed to deepen. The silence between them was no longer uncomfortable; it was the kind of quiet that only comes when two people have been through too much together to need words.
"How long before they come?" Amina asked, breaking the stillness, her voice surprisingly steady.
Valec didn't immediately answer. His gaze shifted to the sea, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't know. But I can feel them... the gods. They're closer than ever before. It's like their presence is pressing down on the air itself."
Amina nodded. She had felt it too—the subtle, oppressive weight of something ancient and powerful stirring in the very fabric of the world. It was as if the earth itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
"They won't just appear out of nowhere," she said, her voice laced with a sense of determination. "We've been preparing for this moment, haven't we? They can't catch us off guard."
Valec's eyes flicked to her, a flicker of admiration crossing his features. "You're right. We've been through fire. But we still don't know what we're truly up against. These gods aren't like anything we've faced before."
Amina shivered at his words. She didn't want to think about what the gods might do when they arrived. The stories she had heard as a child painted them as immortal, powerful beings who wielded unimaginable power. But she had learned that stories were often more than half-lies, filled with fear and exaggeration. And even gods had weaknesses—she hoped.
"I've had dreams," Valec continued, his voice low and distant. "Dreams of them calling to me, reaching for me. I think... I think they want me to return."
Amina turned sharply to face him. His words sent a cold chill racing down her spine. "What do you mean, 'return'?"
Valec's face twisted, pain flashing through his expression. "Before I was... before all of this began, I was something else. I was a servant of the gods. I served them—until I betrayed them. I left."
Amina's heart raced as she took in his words. She had suspected something like this, but hearing it spoken aloud made it all the more real. Valec had a history with the gods—a past tied to the very forces that were now awakening.
"What did you do?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"I don't know if I can explain it. It's a part of me I've tried to bury, but it's coming back now." Valec stood, pacing in the moonlight as his voice dropped to a whisper. "I was a warrior, bound to the will of the gods, bound to them through blood and oath. I fought for them, but in the end, I couldn't accept their way. I couldn't follow their will any longer, so I turned my back on them."
Amina stood, too, her eyes never leaving him. She could see the struggle within him—the battle he had fought within himself and the remnants of that battle still alive in his every movement.
"They won't forget that," Amina said softly, her voice almost a warning.
Valec nodded. "I know. And now they're calling me back, Amina. They want me to return to their service. But I won't. I won't let them control me again."
Amina felt the weight of his words settle on her chest. The gods were not just external forces to be reckoned with; they were part of Valec's very essence, a piece of his soul bound to them in ways Amina could barely comprehend. If the gods wanted him back, it would not be an easy fight.
The boy, who had been silent until now, stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with a strange intensity. His presence seemed to bring an odd sense of calm, a stillness that contrasted sharply with the tension that had been growing between Amina and Valec.
"They will come for you, Valec," the boy said, his voice a soft murmur. "The gods will not allow you to turn away from them so easily."
Valec stiffened. "What do you know of them?"
The boy did not flinch at the accusation. "I know that they are not just gods—they are rulers of fate. And you... you are a key to their plan. You are not just a weapon, Valec. You are their tool, a part of something much larger."
Amina's heart skipped a beat. She could feel the truth of the boy's words in her bones. This was no longer just about survival. It was about fate itself, the threads that tied each of them to something greater—and more terrifying—than they had ever imagined.
"What do you mean, 'a key'?" Amina asked, her voice trembling with urgency.
The boy glanced between them, his eyes clouded with the weight of things unsaid. "You must understand—what's coming is not just a battle. It's an ending, a conclusion to a story that has been written since before time began. You are part of that story. And Valec... he is its conclusion."
Amina felt her breath catch in her throat. "The conclusion? What does that mean?"
Before the boy could answer, the ground beneath them trembled. The sea churned violently, the waves crashing against the cliffs with a deafening roar. The stars above began to flicker, one by one, as though the heavens themselves were being extinguished.
A voice—a voice so powerful it seemed to shake the very fabric of reality—echoed through the air, deep and ancient.
"Valec..."
Amina's heart stopped.
The voice was calling to him. And the gods were no longer a distant myth.
They were here.