Apparently, we had taken too long getting back to Gerin. At least, that was the popular consensus. “Come on, John! Everyone’s waiting.” Thalia called out with a laugh, wearing a sparkling green dress as she walked in front of me. After we had arrived, they called us down to talk, everyone wanting to thank and congratulate us for defeating the empire.

From what was discussed, they had long since planned a festival in our honor, but were simply waiting for us to return to kick it off. However… I really didn’t seem to be in the mood for such a festival. I was happy, yes, but there was something else. As I looked around, and saw everyone celebrating, the Eye of Time was constantly activating. I saw the lives and deaths of countless people time and again.

I was reminded with every face I saw that none of this was going to last. Soon, we were going to ascend or whatever, and they would all start their lives over as if none of this had happened. Yes, this timeline would be archived like all the rest, but just how many times will they relive the same life before it’s all over?

We’re working on that.

I blinked in surprise, not having expected Malthan to be eavesdropping on my thoughts again. What do you mean? I thought the First or whatever he was left?

He did. The system he created was flawed. No matter how many gods we create, the end of time itself is still the ultimate inevitability for this universe. The system he made won’t change that.

Now this was weird. Malthan almost seemed to be taking this seriously. Then what are you talking about? Isn’t that the entire plan?

Not quite. You’ve gotten this far, so I can tell you. There are those among us who still remember the initial goal, and who still agree with it. But, we all think the First went about it the wrong way. His idea was to change this universe so that it never has to end, but that’s impossible. The universe itself won’t allow any meddling to that degree.

So, we are trying something different. Something we think has a chance of success. That’s where Champions come in. Whenever a champion ascends, their god borrows a bit of power to gain another domain. It’s like getting two gods with one.

I felt myself growing somewhat annoyed by how he started to explain, and then abruptly stopped, as if purposely building suspense. Right after I thought he was taking this seriously, too. Thankfully, another message appeared in my vision soon.

Hey, I am taking this seriously. Someone just walked by and grabbed my attention. Anyways, we still need to gather a lot of gods to get our plan to work, so we’re following the same general idea that the First laid out. But, instead of Project Genesis, this is Project Exodus.

Once we get enough gods, and have enough power at our disposal, we plan to superimpose the universe onto the divine realm that the First created. This realm is outside the confines of time, so the end that he had in mind is still able to be achieved, just through a different means.

So… the great big plan, the reason people still search for other gods… is to create an entirely new universe? A bit surprising, but from what I’ve understood so far, they should still be a long ways away from that. Then, what happens to all of these archived timelines? Surely, they didn’t plan to merge them all into one. The sheer number of people copied over each other would be disastrous.

They’re going to stay in the archives, John. The original homes of all the gods. Until the end of their lifetimes, they will be preserved. And each archived universe had so long to live. By the time it dies, the god in charge of it would have had time to come to peace with it. Everyone they cared about would have been moved over. They might still be mortal, but their descendants will never have to fear running out of time.

I nodded my head slightly, before I felt a tug on my hand. Tokemi was looking up from beside me, a curious expression on her face. “Is something wrong, daddy?” She asked as we stood waiting for one of the elves’ subways.

“No, nothing’s wrong, Tokemi.” I shook my head with a small smile, but then couldn’t help but wonder. What about her? Tokemi was timeless in the truest sense, time held no power over her. She could theoretically survive until the universe died around her. And she would always be alone… Unable to age, even if there was another of her species someday, they could never have a child.

Tokemi is… special. She’s unique. I’ll ask around for you. Right now, this realm can only support gods, but once we are ready for the final stage, I’ll see if we can bring her over. If it’s her, there won’t be the problem of crossing timelines. She’s just got to survive in this timeline until then.

Well, that did help a little. At least I had a way of keeping my promise with her. I let out a long sigh, moving onto the train that arrived to take us to our next destination for the festival. The festival itself was a big party, and I’m sure that there were a lot of people having fun. Even Tokemi seemed to be enjoying herself, dragging me around to watch parades, play games, or just find something to eat.

To me, however, that one day felt like it was every bit as long as the time I trapped myself in the bubble of time. Anywhere between months and centuries passed by every time I looked at someone new. Going by what Malthan had said, I must have affected all of their lives, even if it was just by ending this war. But seeing them all die hundreds, if not thousands of times… It made the event far too morbid for me to truly enjoy.

Later, when I met up with Sharon and Yin, I saw similar expressions on their faces. They were solemn despite the joyous festival. “John… can we go?” Sharon actually took the initiative to ask that once we were alone. Her voice was steady, but I could see her eyes beginning to water. “Whatever ascension, let’s just get this over with. Like he said, we can come back any time. But I don’t want… to see this anymore.”

Although Yin remained silent, she too nodded her head in agreement. Without saying another word to anyone else, we began moving towards the shipyard. Tokemi was still coming with us, but we just didn’t want to see any more people.

To our surprise, we actually found Celeste waiting for us. Her appearance had returned to its normal self, with her flowing pink hair and happy expressions. “Hey guys. Figured you’d be heading this way soon, so I prepared something for you.” She said, motioning off to the side. We had been planning to take a shuttle up to the Ariadne and quietly leave with Celeste piloting the ship, but she seemed to have a different idea.

Off in the distance, a familiar ship sat parked. One that we had not seen in ages. Our original ship, the Seraglio. It was the one ship that we really all contributed to creating. Standing in front of it were four people. My mom and dad, holding hands and smiling warmly at us. And then there was Tessa and her mom.

As we walked closer, we could see that Tessa’s eyes were watering, barely restrained tears held in the depths of her eyes. I could understand her, a little bit. When I found her, she was a scared elemental, who wasn’t able to communicate with anyone. In most timelines, after the Seeds appeared on Earth, that is how she died, treated as a monster. Maybe seeing me go now was hard on her.

“It’s okay, Tess. We’ll be back soon.” Tokemi said with a smile, reaching out to comfort Tessa after we drew nearer.

“You better, Mimi…” She nodded her head heavily. “And John… thank you for everything.” Turning towards me, she bowed her head deeply.

“Yo and Yang are already inside.” My dad said as he walked up to us. “There’s not enough room for everyone to go with you, but we figured they deserve the spots.”

Originally, the ship had only been made to hold myself, Yin, Yang, Sharon, Yo, and Celeste. It really wasn’t built to carry too many people. “Thanks…” I nodded my head towards the two of them, before moving towards the ship.

There was an oddly echoed bark coming out just as the airlock opened, and a small dog jumped out to tackle us. Well… a small dog with two heads. “Chrome. I haven’t seen you in a while, buddy.” I couldn’t help but smile slightly as I recognized the little mutt. But he wasn’t the only one in a hurry to greet us. A winged cat shot out from the airlock as well, flying a circle around Sharon before happily landing on her head.

Sharon laughed, reaching up to stroke the cat’s wings. “Hey Jasmine. I missed you.” She spoke gently, picking Jasmine up and pulling her down into her arms. Jasmine happily snuggled into Sharon’s embrace, and we all shared a soft smile as we went inside.

“We’re ready to go anytime, dad!” Yo was already sitting in the cockpit by the time we arrived, Yang standing a short distance behind her. It was strangely nice to see the old ship, without any of its upgraded technologies like the Ariadne had.

“Don’t worry, I’m driving.” Celeste said as she entered behind us, closing the airlock after she did. “But yes, we can leave anytime.”

I looked over to Yin and Sharon, who nodded their heads in agreement, before turning back to Celeste. “Let’s do it. Take us up, number one.” I smiled slightly, feeling as the ship lifted up off the ground.

As we were leaving the atmosphere, we received a transmission that was apparently going out to all ships in the system. “And now, to commemorate this occasion, High Queen Maeve has asked us to play a special song, We Stand With You.”

After the announcement went out, I heard a familiar melody, a recording of a song I heard before. Soon, Celeste’s voice sang out through the broadcast. “Moving on, is the hardest thing, the hardest choice, you’ll ever make…”

I looked over, and saw a sad smile on Celeste’s face as she listened to that song again. “Jumping to subspace.” She spoke in a softer tone than normal. Soon, we were flying through the vast emptiness of subspace, the world around us distorting as I used my powers to accelerate the ship.

The journey to Earth lasted only a few hours under the enhanced speed, moving dozens of times faster than the ship normally could on its own. And when we arrived, we saw what had become of Earth. The land burned, the oceans boiled, and giant monsters flew through the air. A quick scan was all it took for me to discover that there was not a single human living on the planet anymore, even though most of them had been left behind when the colony ships left.

Last stop, kids. Since John’s the main character here, let’s finish this up at his place.

I saw the message appear in front of me, and glancing over to Yin and Sharon told me that they had seen it as well. “Think you can find my old house?” I asked Celeste, who looked at me in confusion, before nodding her head. No doubt, Malthan was stopping her from seeing these messages still.

To no surprise, my house had been destroyed, as had most of the city. Oakland had fallen into the ocean with the rest of California. But as we watched, a golden light surrounded the area it had once been, briefly returning it to how it was in the past. I saw my house reassemble itself, rising out of the sea with a small patch of land.

“I think we’re being invited.” I chuckled, looking to the others. We all knew what came next, so I dropped down onto my knee and looked at Tokemi. “You be a good girl until we get back, okay?” I asked with a smile, and I could see the tears forming in her eyes again as she threw her arms around my neck. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Who knows, we might even be waiting for you when you get to Gerin.”

“...Promise?” She asked, and I could feel my shoulder growing damp as she buried her head in it.

“If he doesn’t promise, I will.” Sharon said, reaching down and patting Tokemi’s silver hair. “And have I ever lied to you?”

“No…” She shook her head, finally willing to pull herself back away from me. “Just… come back soon.” We all nodded our heads to her at that, before I opened up a portal to send us down to the planet.

To my surprise, it was Yin that spoke first when we got down to the lawn. “This was not on the scan…” She said quietly, drawing mine and Sharon’s attention to three Seeds that sat on the patch of land. Unlike the normal silvery appearance of the capsules, these seemed to be made out of gold.

Congratulations to John, Yin, and Sharon Hulett for earning the qualifications to ascend to godhood.

If you enter the prepared Seeds of Divinity, we will happily welcome you to our realm, your new home.

The three of us looked at one another, and nodded, moving to enter the capsules. “See you on the other side.” I told the two of them as the lid began to close.

My vision went white for several long moments, before I found myself standing on a stone street. Towering buildings stretched out as far and as high as I could see. People of every race walked about, some interacting warmly with others while some kept to themselves. A short distance ahead, I saw a familiar blue alien arguing with the Goddess of Justice that I only recently came to learn about.

“Oh, come on, Hiren! You know I had Cosplay reserved as my third domain! I even had a deal with Carl to trade for Ambiguous Foreshadowing!” He flailed his arms as he shouted out, acting as if he’d been wronged.

“Rules are rules. The new Gods may choose their own domain, but the God of War is no longer with us. As the patron of the newly ascended, it is your responsibility to take the mantle.” Hiren had a playful smile on her face as she said that, the strict image she had shown before all but shattered.

“But… Chaos, Madness, and War… Nobody is going to like me! If I had Chaos, Madness, and Ambiguous Foreshadowing, I could still play it off!” He crossed his arms in a huff, seeing he wasn’t going to win this argument. It seemed that the two of them hardly even noticed that we appeared. However, there was a third character that did. A woman that ran towards us in a dead sprint, a wide smile on her face.

I had always known her as Aria, the elven Goddess of Fashion. But now, after I saw those visions, another name seemed to fall from my lips as she wrapped her arms around me. “Alice.” Her eyes seemed to light up as I said her original name, nodding her head happily.

“Welcome home, John. I’ve been waiting a long time. Or, should I call you Falenel now?” She asked, and I looked around just in time to see Sharon and Yin materializing around me, taking in the scenery. “I’ll help the three of you get adjusted. There’s so much to tell you…” She laughed, reaching down and grabbing Sharon and Yin’s hands, before turning to run off towards a nearby building, where we would be living our new lives. Still, in the back of my mind, I could hear that song playing.

“Walk your path, just never forget. You’re not alone, and those beside you, walk with you every day…”