Chapter 39

Wil found himself in a desert, black sand stretching endlessly into the horizon. Above, the blue sun of Secundus dominated the sky, much larger than he had ever seen it before in reality.

He was back in the Midnight Desert, but, unlike before, mana was thick in the air. Oddly, he couldn’t feel the heat. There was a shimmering haze over the shifting sand dunes, telling him that the temperatures were high, but he only felt cold.

“Secundus!” Wil shouted, turning slowly, hoping to see her. “Secundus! I need your help. We all do! Illyria is falling, and I thought I could solve this myself, but I can’t! I’ve failed.” He whispered, his voice trailing off.

“You are not alone in that, my child. The gods have failed our world. It is I that have failed you, Wil.” A voice spoke, a beautiful sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Looking ahead, he saw a shaft of light streak from the sun, coalescing into a woman. Wearing elegant blue robes, she walked towards him.

Whether it was because he was the one seeking her, or his new awareness of the world around him, he saw her with more clarity than he ever had before. She looked weak, Ill, her footsteps faltering, her skin an unhealthily pale white. Her hair, blond like his mother’s, was lank and thin.

“What happened to you?” Wil asked in disbelief at the sight of her infirmity.

“We have been betrayed, Wil. The other gods placed our trust in one of our own to guard the Night. She has given herself to the others for a place by their side, the fool.” Secundus responded, reaching Wil, and gripping his arm for support.

“Is there…Is there something I can do to help you?” Wil asked. Secundus shook her head at his words.

“You tried, my child. I am afraid that there is little to be done. This battle is for the gods alone.” She replied, and Wil had a sudden understanding.

“Are you and the other gods the reason that thing hasn’t come through the portal yet?” Secundus nodded at his words.

“You came seeking my assistance against your foe, Wil. But unfortunately, I have nothing left to give. My brother is already gone, and if things do not change in our favor, I will be joining him shortly.” The goddess whispered, looking at the sky with sadness.

“Primaris is dead?” Wil asked, shocked to his core. Shaking his head, he focused on what he could do to help. Pulling out the Gold Coin, he held it out to Secundus, flat on his raised palm.

“I still have this. Can you do anything to help me? Healing, or an attack…anything?” Wil asked, his hand shaking as he saw the goddess stare at the coin. It had saved him in the past, striking his enemies with divine power. Surely, it could do so again.

“I’m sorry, Wil. This is a token of our divine power, given to those we deem worthy. Through it, we can provide blessings, heal wounds, even banish the undead or corrupted from our world. But it requires more than power, it requires our presence, control over a domain.” Secundus explained, plucking the coin from Wil’s shaking hand.

“I don’t understand.”

“The gods have control over their domain, complete dominion over an aspect. Aruna controls the seas, but beyond his shores, he is powerless to interfere. Others control the sky, the earth, the mountains, and the forests. My brother and I, we have dominion over everything that our light touches. Compared to others, our sphere of influence is greatest. But it is also the most fragile. There are times when we have no power at all.”

She continued, turning the coin over to show the wavy lines of Aruna, the seven-pointed sun of Primaris, the perfect circle of her own symbol. Several others flashed on its surface, the black moon, a tall mountain, a tree with deep roots and branches that stretched across the sky.

“At Night? You have no power at Night.” Wil reasoned. Secundus nodded at his words.

“We split the sky, dividing it between us, until our power is drained, and we retreat.” She said, placing the coin back in Wil’s hand. “I cannot help you, Wil. The foe you face, the divinities behind it, I am powerless to assist you.”

“Until day returns.” Wil said, looking down at the coin. Secundus shook her head sadly.

“There will be no ‘day’, Wilhelm, just a never-ending Night, until the world is consumed. Already, several gods have fallen, and more will join them soon. I had hoped that by sending you back to Brookmoor it could be avoided, but it was only a faint hope, one with a slim chance of succeeding.” She said, closing his hand over the gold coin gripped in his palm.

“You sent me back to Brookmoor with Serena! If you hadn’t, none of this would have happened, Sucundus. And now you’re telling me there’s nothing you can do!? After everything I’ve done for you, you’ll let everything fall apart?!” Wil shouted. Looking down at his closed fist, he hurled the gold coin away, his hands shaking with rage.

“If you hadn’t gone to Brookmoor, they would have come for you and Serena. Alone, you would have been able to do nothing to stop them. By returning, I gave you an opportunity, with your brother and friends by your side, you had a chance of succeeding.” She said, ignoring his rage and taking his hands in hers. He felt a calming energy rush through his body, soothing his rage.

“A chance that failed. I failed, Secundus…We’ve failed. Is there nothing that can be done?” He whispered, looking at her beseechingly. His faith in her crumbled when she shook her head.

“There is nothing that I, or any of the gods of man, can do to help you now, Wilhelm. I’m sorry.” She finished, gently dropping his hands, and stepping backwards.

“I have faith in you, Wil, just as you once had faith in me.”

With those final words, she disappeared, the blue sun over head departed, sweeping across the sky, and sinking rapidly beneath the horizon. The sky burned indigo, before darkening to black. Stars shone through the darkness, visible with the absence of the Black Moon.

Collapsing onto his knees, he clenched his fists in the black sands, feeling the coarse material between his fingers. Breaking down, Wil wept at the realization that there was nothing left for him to do to stop the inevitable.

The black sands beneath him absorbed his tears, removing any evidence that he had ever been here, that he had ever lived at all. Scrubbing his cheeks, Wil drew in a deep breath, pushing aside his feelings and focusing on the now.

“There must be a way. There must be something!” He screamed, his voice lost amidst the blowing black sands. Ahead of him, a doorway appeared, a portal, soft white light against the harsh darkness of the Midnight Desert.

It called to him, speaking to him in a multitude of voices. They whispered of rest, of peaceful sleep and eventually rebirth. Louder than all the others, he heard his mother calling to him. Silhouetted against the white light, a figure stood, her arms outstretched, beckoning him to come to her.

“It’s alright, my sweet boy. It’s over, you have done everything you possibly could. You don’t need to be scared, the other side is wonderful, filled with peace and love. Leave your regrets behind…” She called, joined by a chorus of others. Those he knew in life that had passed on, they all were behind that white doorway, urging him to enter, to cast his old life away and walk with them into a new world.

“I can’t…” Wil whispered, his knees still buried in the sand. He fought the urge to walk towards that doorway with every fiber of his being, willing his soul to remain, to fight on. With each passing second, the pull grew stronger, the desire to leave grew, until he was gritting his teeth, holding onto his rationality with desperate strength.

“I don’t care how, but I swear I’ll find a way to stop this! I would give anything, do anything, to make things right!” He screamed, shouting into the sky with all the breath in his lungs. His call echoed into the darkness, repeating back to him dozens of times, before it faded away.

When nothing responded, Wil pressed his forehead against the sand. Just when he had given up hope, as he was about to climb to his feet and trek towards the portal, a voice sounded from the darkness beside him.

“Finally…” The darkness uttered, dragging out the word. The portal ahead winked shut, the light extinguished, drowning the world around Wil in darkness once more.

“You’ve remembered our pact, have you not? Would you truly do anything to stop my brother, to slay an Elder Dragon and seal the portal to your world? Would you give up your very soul, Wil…” The voice murmured.

“Moloch.” Wil said, looking at the darkness ahead of him. From deep within, a set of burning eyes stared at him, unblinking.

“Yes. I will.” Wil said, and his world was consumed by fire.