27. Nikolai
Nikolai
Four hundred years after the war
It’s strange, looking back at how different things were back then. Four human lifetimes is no jaunt in the park. And yet I remember everything as if it were yesterday. The flower beds filled with bones, the wars waged, the wrath of the gods against demons for merely existing.
It all seems like a dream, a terrible nightmare. But what bloomed from those dreams is real and true.
That love truly does conquer all. With change, forgiveness, understanding, and a guided heart.
“Thank you, old friends, for your sacrifice.” I bow my head at the statue I’ve visited every day since. Raindrops tap against my shoulder and signal that it’s time I head to the chapel for the celebration of life.
I take a moment to look over the statue once more before I leave. Alira and Kalel locked in stone the moment they stopped the war and became the new veil for Devicit. The kingdom that has hosted both demons and demigods for centuries.
“Come on, Dad, we’ll be late,” my son calls out from farther down the path.
He doesn’t understand why I come here so frequently.
I’ve told him time and time again that I’m visiting old friends to pay my respects, but he will never understand the gravity of what they did.
He has grown in beautiful times because of their sacrifice.
My old friends wouldn’t recognize me if they could see me now. I smile and follow my son back across the fields and into the kingdom. I’m older, wiser, and have lived so much life. I hope one day that the gods will set them free. I hope one day they get to see the Faultore that they’ve created.
Beautiful flags and banners are strung up in the streets.
People laughing and sharing food and stories that bring joy to our hearts.
Tessa and her family are already at the chapel by the time I arrive.
She gives me a warm hug, and we sit down near the back as the celebration continues on.
Our friendship is a testament to time and overcoming our grief together.
Our commitment to building a better world.
It’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when this wasn’t our normal. Children with horns and those with golden blood play together as the adults remember and celebrate what happened four centuries ago.
“Do you think our efforts will help them one day?” Tessa asks. Her eyes have wrinkles around them now, and her brown hair is streaked with gray. A few rows up I catch sight of Ustel and Nina laughing with their children.
Will our efforts help our friends someday? It’s hard to say.
Demigods have willingly chosen to be buried here in the kingdom alongside the demons. And while at first, it was nothing more than the cycle of life, something truly beautiful came of it.
The soil has begun to transform beyond the veil’s power.
The answer was always so simple and right before our eyes.
Together. Only together could we overcome the gods and the wicked games they played and to create a sanctuary for all.
The flowers have spread beyond the kingdom and far into the charred lands.
Even to Mortem, some say. Maybe one day we won’t need the veil anymore, and the gods can see what beautiful beings we are together.
I lean back against the pew. “I hope so. But I don’t think either of us will see the day.”