I opened my eyes and the world had changed and I had to jump down to the ground to avoid a scarlet scythe. The scarlet scythe swung through the air, cutting off a strand of hair from my head and leaving an afterimage above me.

Another silver scythe swung at my feet. I jumped up and used flight magic to fly above the red scythe which was swinging back to me like a boomerang. Both scythes swirled through the air and swung back towards me as I flew higher and higher into the air.

The swooshing sounds of the scythes turned into hypnotic whispers that sounded like they were saying something. Something I couldn’t quite make out, couldn’t understand until the scythes swung past me again and I dodged and weaved between their swings. The whispers were telling me to embrace them, to let myself go. Why was I avoiding them? They just wanted to give me a hug.

I smirked. Hugging a blade? Those whispers were probably meant to control my mind or emotions. They were stronger than the other kinds of mind control magic I’d encountered before but my new magic system wouldn’t let that sort of magic work on me. Not when I had everything from neuroscience and existential philosophy affirming my independent mind. I didn’t need more than cogito ergo sum to resist the whispers.

And the scythes were made out of energy. Was it light energy or something else? Well, we’d find out, wouldn’t we.

The red scythe swung towards me and I threw some wind towards it. The wind didn’t slow the scythe down at all and I avoided it.

The silver scythe came and I threw one of my two diamonds at it. The scythe collided against the diamond and shuddered. A horrible screech pierced the air, making me grit my teeth. The silver scythe flashed and flickered but eventually continued its path towards me. I avoided it too.

The red scythe seemed to hesitate when I raised my hand towards it. Perhaps it saw the glint of the other diamond in my hand. That made me wonder, why was there so much light right now, anyway? The sun should have set by now. I turned my head up while keeping both scythes in the corners of my eyes. I froze and cursed under my breath.

The full moon was out and hanging above my head in its full glory. The red star shone from its own perch in the sky, sparkling a dangerous red and twinkling like it was trying to speak to me through Morse code. The scythes swung towards me together and I ducked under them while rocketing towards the ground.

I touched the flattened earth but kept looking at the sky. I was standing on the remains of one of the mountains that had collided when the Book of Annihilation was closed. The moon and the red star stared down at me like they were observing an amoeba under a microscope.

“You’ve already won, haven’t you!” I yelled into the air. The scythes stopped. “You’ve got the Book of Annihilation and you’ve started the ceremony. I have no idea where the book is or how I’m supposed to stop this ceremony. You’ve won! So get on with it already, do whatever it is that you wanted to do!”

The scythes hung under their respective symbols. The silver scythe faded into the moonlight but the red scythe grew darker and more sinister. The red star blinked and flashed brightly and the red scythe grew larger and faster as it zoomed towards me.

The moon shone as if it wanted to stop the red scythe, but it was too late. I smiled and laughed as I made a mound of earth appear in front of me. The scythe cut through the mound like it was nothing but another mound appeared. This mound was made out of harder materials and was packed together much closer. The scythe cut through it too.

But there was another mound. Then another. And another. And each time, the obstacle became harder and the scythe became stronger and terrible noises filled the air and the moon began to scream what sounded like stop but the red star became more erratic and wild and enraged.

Finally, a mound of diamond appeared in front of the scythe and it crashed into it like a wild bull. The red scythe cried out in anger and rage as it sliced through the surface of the diamond. I had to hold my hands to my ears because of the terrible scratching and screeching but even through my hands I could hear the sounds of the scythe as they began to turn from anger to fear.

The scythe was deep inside the diamonds when the diamond mound began to repair itself. The red star, drowning in rage, didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. The diamond mound began healing itself closer and closer to the scythe. The scythe’s screeching became more muffled as it was blocked by the hard carbon. The red star finally realized that something was wrong and the scythe stopped cutting. But all that did was give the healing diamond mound enough time to heal itself so close to the scythe that the scythe became entombed in the diamond.

The silver moon did not shine. The red star’s shine was dull but consistent. The scythe could not move inside the diamond mound but I could see it from where I stood. The scythe looked strange now that I could see it without any motion or vibrations. It didn’t even look like a scythe now that it was stationary. I blinked and frowned. I got closer.

My motion made the silver moon and the red star jolt from their inaction. The silver moon glared and the red star blinked rapidly. The silver scythe reappeared but when more mountains and mounds appeared in its path, the scythe froze and the silver moon’s glare dulled. The red star’s whispers became louder, sounding as if it was scolding the moon for not doing something.

I put my hand on the diamond tomb and squinted. Through the mesmerizing colors inside the gem, and the distortions of light that made it hard to make out the exact shape of the scythe, I eventually began to piece together the actual shape and form of the scythe.

The ‘scythe’ wasn’t a scythe at all. It was a page.

I couldn’t make out the words on the page, both because I did not know how to read this language and because the words were scribbled in a near indecipherable script. The red star’s whispers came to my ears and I realized the Evil Eye was mocking me. He had remembered that his gift to me did not let me read words. I would not be able to figure out what was written here and the Immortals would send the rest of their supporters down here to dispose of me soon.

I chuckled. No, I laughed. I laughed out so loudly that the whispers stopped and the silver moon also began to flicker as if it was worried. The whispers returned, they asked me if I had finally succumbed to Madness, but I kept laughing.

I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Tears formed in my eyes and my chest began to hurt but I couldn’t help it. I leaned back and shouted into the air, “Noel! Noel, you won’t believe this! It’s amazing! The funniest thing to ever happen to me in this world! Where are you Noel, you should be here for this!”

The silver moonlight flickered. The silver scythe reappeared but it flickered under the moonlight. The red star’s whispers said something like what are you doing but the silver moonlight kept flickering and the scythe began to blink in and out of existence until I rubbed the tears from my eyes and blinked.

The silver scythe, which looked more clearly like a page now, turned into Noel’s familiar figure, which explained both where Noel and Alek had been this whole time as well as explaining why the Simurgh had not been able to help me against something that seemed like it was direct intervention by the other Immortals.

Noel looked down at me with an enraged and confused expression. I pointed to her and laughed some more. I then pointed to the red scythe that was still stuck inside the diamond and laughed some more.

“Can you believe it Noel?” I asked between bouts of laughter.

“If my master had not told me you have not succumbed to Madness, I would have thought you’d gone mad, Cas,” said Noel with a frown.

“But it’s just so funny, Noel! Look at it! After all this time, despite all of your planning and evil designs, this is how it ends. This is how it ends, Noel!” I said.

“What are you talking about?” asked Noel.

“The words, Noel! The words on the page stuck in the diamond!” I said as I pointed to them. “Don’t they look familiar?”

Noel squinted her eyes. I even cast a little light magic to help her see. Noel’s eyes widened. I laughed.

“They’re the words from the cave of The Terrible!” I said out loud.