Path of Stars: Epilogue (Patreon)

Stars streaked the Void like bonfires in the night as Sam walked through the currents of the Chaos Wild. His eyes were closed, but his spirit stretched out, touching the stars and the stones, the cold and the dark. With each step, he dreamed.

Most of the dreams were the Ages of the Void, the endless cycle of light and dark, and the birth of the stars. The currents of time flowed ceaselessly from one end to another, touching all and none. As he walked, the memories of the Titans fused with his mind, imprinting themselves onto his heart like conversations with old friends, making it impossible to ever forget.

With each memory he lived, his understanding of the Titans grew deeper, but it was never overbearing. It only showed him another way to see darkness and light.

In the First Age, time passed in drifting contemplation as millions of years flowed by in a sparkling river, the only points of reference the changing movement of the dark and the voices of the Titans. Each of them was born from the stars, cousins to the ones that still existed, except blessed with the ability to move and speak, and to grow with age.

Slowly, he came to understand that the heart of time was darkness, where all things began, and the stars were the dreams of the dark.

Often, those thoughts were too distant for him and even as the voices resonated in his mind, his heart beat for home. Now and then, he unconsciously looked up, turning his closed eyes to Aster Fall. His hand reached outward with a current of silver flames as he grasped at the Void.

Then came real dreams of his family, his friends and allies, and of his army of Silver Nagas and the Wild Tree, interspersed in the images of the past. Asenya’s words floated on the edge of his mind, warning him about power beyond Ascension. Even asleep, concern for his family and the Flaws in the World Seal made his heart race and his aura surged higher, fusing with the energy of the stars.

Years passed like candlelight.

His aura slowly changed, becoming deeper and more profound as it merged with the Void. The flames and silver stars became more distinct as they absorbed the memories he experienced. Until, on a certain day, there was no longer any separation between his aura and the Void. In between one step and the next, he faded away, disappearing into the dark.

The only sign left of his presence was a ripple of silver stars, floating among all the others. They looked like a banner in the night. Stars spun in their cycles and worlds rose and set in front of them.

Then, one day...a silver flame appeared in the darkness.

It didn’t appear all at once, but slowly and with a struggle like it was pulling itself back together from the dark, like the first star being born at the start of time. The flame grew brighter and took on the shape of an eye. It was joined by another, followed by a brilliant blue that filled them. Then a huge form with two curving horns that framed the sky appeared around those points, his body only an outline that shimmered with translucent light.

Silver flames appeared and poured inward, filling in his body as he became more solid. His muscles flexed, the flames soaring higher as he strained against the pull of the dark. Before he was even fully present, he turned to look into the distance, his movements slow and jerky as he searched for something. A low growl resonated as his lungs reformed, carrying with it a sense of ages passing as suns merged with moons and mountains changed to seas.

A single word echoed across the dark. His voice was creaky with unfamiliar use, but it held a determination to crush everything arrayed against it.

“Home.”