Tread Lightly

I wake up warm. It's a bizarre sensation, and due to that fact, my heart races into action. I attempt to move, confused and with my blood pumping, only to rip the covers atop me and collapse the bed beneath me. I stumble in panic out of my restraints straight onto the floor and with my cheek against the hardwood.

A piercing shrill of good-hearted laughter comes from a few feet away as I turn my pupils to find Elizabeth hard at work with a stack of papers before an elongated desk.

Bewilderment continues to grow as I flick my eyes around, discovering a white room with windows that let the sun's benevolent glow in. An unreinforced door rests near the corner, like that of a typical room. Squinting, I ask the laughing lady a question.

"Am I in a hospital?"

Elizabeth bobs her head up and down, flicking her hair that's grown... longer. She cut it short before the war. Now...

"Yes, silly. You've been asleep for a month. Dawn and Earl came to the conclusion you were tired. Dead tired. Almost two full years of non-stop fighting, killing, and running yourself ragged. Not to mention all your injuries, soul and physical. But here you are. Alive. And that's what matters, right? We're past the storm. So... it's okay. Relax. It's alright. Even if... you freak out because of the calm."

Her tone is smooth and fluid, and it comes to me when I need it most. I feel my shoulders slide back fully as a weight has fallen off. A little girl waves at me as I finally notice her existence on a nearby bench in the room.

"You're awake! I left you alone in your dreams because... you were super tired. Not even Ma could get you up! And she's the Lord Of Dreams now! Hehehe!"

Right. After all this... there are three Lords now, right? Back how it was a thousand years ago. Except... One is a God, and two are Demigods. Still binary in a way. Aniwye and Natos, huh... The Lord Of Dreams and the Lord Of Light. It doesn't sound all that negative. If anything... they are positive names.

I stand, walking over to the open chair as I feel...

Amazing. Is this...

"You seem happy. And you're walking without that... wobble you always had."

"A wobble?"

I question the woman as I take a seat, careful not to use too much strength to break it. This place isn't like the Underworld, built for great power.

Elizabeth nods, flicking the end of her pen toward my knees as if it's something obvious.

"Yeah, your wobble. Hard to spot if someone hasn't known you before. I figured it was from stress. Seems I was right."

I don't have an answer for her as I instead breathe, remembering all the pain it took to get to this point. My lungs pick up the pace, and I struggle to get the air into my lungs. A few seconds pass before my partner calms me.

"Hey. Just look at that sun. You see it? We did that. We protected it. It's over. All I've ever known is blood and death, but... you've got it worse than me. I had a month to spend with Lily and the others. You need to breathe. Breathe, Wyatt. Breathe."

I do as he says. The radiance once more slows my stress, lowering it to the point that I lean back against the wall. I continue staring at the sun even as Lily and Elizabeth speak to each other.

"Can you take me to see Uncle Johnny's grave today with Wyatt!? I wanna put some flowers there! And then! Can we see the workshop? I heard yesterday from Blake that Earl's working on someone like me! OH! OH! And then!—"

"Lily. What did we talk about? One question at a time. And yes. We can see Johnny. I'm sure Wyatt would like to go there."

The heat twirls within my eyes as I peer at the ever-so-distant flames.

"Oh. Okay. Well, what about now? The workshop?"

I can almost... almost spot the ripples of the sea of flame atop the impossibly large entity. I wonder... Could a God truly destroy a star? Usen boasted of such, but was it really just that, a boast? Or can they only move them? Damage them? They seem so... Maybe with enough time. Yeah... enough time would do it.

"Yes. We can stop by there, too. Wyatt? You listening?"

Elizabeth's direct question to me finally pulls me from the luminance of the midday sun. I turn to face her, agreeing without genuinely knowing the contract.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'll go."

A hand falls onto my cheek, and I flinch from the sudden touch. But I don't pull away. Elizabeth shifts her hand to try to haul me onto my feet. How did I not notice her stand?

"Here. Come. We'll go now. I think... I think you need some fresh air."

I rise with her pull, noting the fact she would be unable to force me if I was not willing. Have I grown stronger? My oh my... Limitless indeed, I suppose.

The woman walks away, her hair that just barely covers her eyes waving along the way. I follow with Lily just beside me, the Goddess giggling with each step. She must terrify anyone we come across.

Shrugging, I step out of the room with the two, and I'm surprised to set foot in a completely ordinary hospital. There are doctors shuffling around constantly, but none are any I recognize. Furthermore... only a few possess a Sigil, all low ones at that.

Elizabeth explains as we pass the closed rooms.

"We moved you into a hospital for more... ordinary people. Your mother said it would help you sleep. You... you don't want to be in the place for Sigiled... There are many still in there, too, for reasons opposite your sleeping self."

The woman shudders while climbing down the steps, and I can't help but press her on those words. It rubs me the wrong way.

"Who? Anyone I would know?"

She and Lily nod simultaneously while we approach the main entrance and exit. Waving at the lady at the front, she answers me.

"Goodbye, Susan! Yes, he's finally awake! Lennon is still there. Silas, too. Many more didn't escape as unscathed as you... but.. that's enough for now. Let's get you outside."

Elizabeth reaches out a hand for me to take, and I peer at it for a split-second. Her palms are scabbed, still damaged from the battles she took part in. I take her hand without hesitation, only observation.

"Okay."

The double doors open to her hand as she brings me outdoors, and I gasp aloud at the scenery before my eyes. Streets, fully functioning and undamaged streets of concrete and brick, line my sight. People walk. Happy. Smiling. Relaxed. Relief floods my veins as a hand grabs my shoulder, and a voice whispers into my ear.

"You did this. Look! Over there!"

My eyes glide to where Elizabeth's fingers point, and I see what she means. Grand, golden, and silver balances rise from each cardinal direction that I spin in, and they exude massive columns of Ether. I begin to follow the Ether with my senses to figure out what it does, but she explains first.

"This is the city that Louis Fern made with his final breath. The Devil. He made... a safe place. A haven. It is floating in the sky with an eternal pact, balanced and protected by the Ether of those who live within it. No Gods are allowed, barring those he had approved of personally. He called it Nevermore instead of Onyx Gate. It is large enough to fit a million souls without issue. Those who were placed here during the war were already put back, with aid, of course. But here... It's almost like heaven."

"It's incredible."

The woman next to me nods with a great big smile, and the dimples on her face that I never noticed light up under closer sun. Then, she drags me further.

"I know! Come on. There is someone who wants to see you."

Confused, I let her lead me through the city. Buildings tower above, nearly all of them three or more stories tall. I can hear the voices of those within and sense their woes and limits at the same time. It is bizarre... but... I don't dislike it.

I tug on the chains of all as I walk past, slightly strengthening even the weakest human. And... more than that, as I realize, there are demons, the more reasonably sized ones, Pygmies, and Nahullo here, too. The latter are the most numerous, but I even spot a few of Granulen's people.

There is peace for now. Things might change, but... It's up to me. And I won't fuck this up. I promise I won't.

I walk a little more straight until we come to a gated entrance. I squint at it while Elizabeth bobs her head, pointing inside as a 3rd Sigiled guard unlocks it for her.

"Here you go, Ma'am."

Lily darts forward into the bounds of the gate, but Elizabeth grabs her before she can escape, pulling her close. Bopping her lightly on the nose, she looks at me.

"Let him go in on his own. Just for a little while."

I expect Lily to complain, but the Colt doesn't. She simply shuffles back and prods the weapon at Elizabeth's hip. Sighing, I shrug and move forward. As I do so, I notice what is on the other side of the gate now that I am no longer distracted.

Graves.

So many graves.

The dates... they are all recent. They are... way too recent.

I walk forward as I notice several people walking along the stone-marked edifices, lamenting those they had lost. I spot a young woman grieving over what must be her husband. I catch an old man kneeling painfully beside his daughter's headstone.

Many of these names are ones I know. I abruptly stop at one gravestone, that of a familiar name and one that I had fought against before.

Parker Callahan

A man who served his people.

Not perfect.

But he did his best.

A woman kneels beside the stone, tears washing down her face. Sylvia Harvey peers up at me, not a hint of anything but grief in her eyes. She shakes her head and turns back to her dead lover.

"Glad to see you're awake."

"Yeah. Thanks. He was a good man. I hope you're doing okay."

I wave at her and move on after my few words, wishing Parker an easy rest. Sylvia's sobs grow louder as I step away. I don't know what to say here, so I just did what I thought was best.

She doesn't like me much, anyway. I doubt my words will mean much to her. However, I am quickly proven wrong as I hear a muffled thanks from behind me. I pause for a second beforing continuing ahead.

Further along the trail I find a series of more opulent gravestones, those that come from more wealthy families. A few... very gorgeous ones made of gold, sapphires, and other precious materials stick out to me majorly.

Tonuyn, Inscriber Of Creation

Loving father, a doting mentor, and a caring leader.

Died protecting his world.

There is no better Pygmy in history.

Behemoth, Beast Of Solitude

A lonely coward who found his courage.

I almost laugh at Behemoth's grave. Who wrote that? Natos? Maybe... Maybe. No. It was assurdely Leviathan. Only she knew him that well to say such a thing. Beside the demons, who have turned dirt, there are Pygmies gathered around Tonuyn's stone, and there is no one at Behemoth's. I do spot a few things around the demon's grave, however, a flower and a lantern.

Maybe he wasn't so lonely after all.

My feet carry me onward until I find what I was meant to. There is a small stone, utterly unlike that of the Demigods, behind me. The man within... he wasn't known for his wealth or his want to flaunt it. He was just a rancher who picked up a gun and saw problems he wanted to fix. And whenever he saw one, he did his all to solve it, whether that cost him all his fortune or all his time.

Johnny Caldwell, the Gunfighter.

An average man who became so much more.

Lead an empire to its demise,

Slayed a God with an ordinary bullet,

Left behind an eternal legacy.

The Devil would bow to you, Johnny.

There is no need for measurement.

Without you, the world would not belong to us.

May you find time to rest now, for you used it all on us.

I read the words from a distance as someone is already here. A woman only a handful of years older than me slouches over the stone with blatant longing. Her buzzed hair tells me who it is even before she turns to face me.

My knees bend as I fall into a crouch before the grave. Blake acknowledges me in her typical quiet way. She's made so much progress, but it seems to have regressed so quickly.

"Hey."

"Hey."

I return the word to her, and we stay there for a minute. Eventually, she speaks. Slowly, but it increases in pace as her stutter no longer exists. Maybe she didn't regress. She just needed some time.

"We had just started thinking about baby names. Johnny finally got over his fear of having another kid. I never wanted to rush him or force him because of Amelia. I couldn't imagine his pain... He rarely talked about her, but the day before he died... he sat me down, and he said... that he wanted to leave something with me. That he wasn't sure if he'd be there to hold me in a year. I got angry at him for that, but... he was right. How often was he wrong? Only about you. Only about you."

The memory where Johnny shot me in the kneecap on our first meeting rings clear, but it sparks a laugh from me. It's a short, nostalgic, and sad chuckle, but it is humorous nonetheless.

I look to the woman who fell in love with my mentor. That's what he was, just like Edmund, Marshall, and Edward. Each taught me for short periods, leaving behind memories and lessons I'll never forget. But Johnny...

He never taught me anything, not directly, anyway. He always instructed by example. I didn't learn Ether or combat from him. Our combat styles and Ether are far too apart to be compatible.

Instead of any of that...

I learned how to be a man. A good man.

"Did you two pick out a name?"

Blake bobs her head with misfortune as she leaks out a surprise.

"Yes. But only one. We didn't know I was having twins. We agreed on Heath if it is a boy. Summer if it is a girl."

I smile, glancing instinctively at her slightly raised stomach. It is hardly even noticeable she is so early along.

"Beautiful names. Do you know which? Blodwyn can probably check if you don't."

Blake smiles and motions for me to go ahead.

"No, we don't. Could you? Please? Dawn hasn't had time the past few days and... I don't know any other doctor. I... I haven't been in a good place lately."

I stand and quickly hug the woman tightly as Blodwyn speaks to me, reading the blood in her body with his incredibly careful Ether.

"Boy and girl. One of each."

I whisper to Blake just as she begins to sob. Her shoulders heave up and down, and I pat her softly. As I do so, I remember the days we spent in damned marsh. Where she came from, and now where she is now. Blake's come so far, and I can't bear to see her like this. At least I can provide some good news.

"A boy and a girl. You can use both names."

Elizabeth and Lily approach us slowly from behind Blake's back, and they see the situation. The former gives me a knowing, strained smile and pulls Lily aside, momentarily covering the young girl's mouth.

"How about you spend the day with Elizabeth, Lily, and I? I think you could use it. We're gonna go see Earl in a little. I just woke up, though."

Blake looks up at me through the tears in her eyes, the water skewing her vision as she asks me possibly the most weighted question she ever has.

"Was this your first stop?"

"Yes."

The woman hugs me even tighter, to the point that she would have killed any person without a Sigil. The future mother of Johnny's children doesn't play around. She's not a Godslayer, but she could handle him.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much."

I extend a slim smile as I continue to hug her. As I do, my eyes drift to the lowest section of the gravestone, a portion written in swirling Ether that is only visible to the most capable eyes.

Goodbye, my friend. We had little moments, but they were magnificent. I remember few humans. I shall remember you for all my centuries. Never again shall I look down a barrel of a gun and not think of you.

For you, Johnny, as long as I live, there shall be no wars between our people. That is a promise written in stone and paid for in blood.

- Ytern Ulren, Warmaster.

That tiny smile grows into a broad one, for I am not the only one willing to fight for peace. Everywhere you went, Johnny. You found a friend.

Everywhere we went. You found at least one. And it's those friends that made it all possible. I only... I only wish I could have seen you kill that God.

More than saying goodbye, I just wanted to see you at work one last time. Because... no one did it like you did. Professional, skilled, and meticulous, with nothing else on your mind other than the goal.

Blake releases me from her hug as she finally notices Elizabeth in the distance through her emotions. The woman from the swamps glances up at me, as if for approval, and I pat her on the back. She quickly steps toward Elizabeth and Lily, waving toward them and wiping away her tears.

As she does so, I turn around, finding a series of empty plots past Johnny. I step to them, kneeling at the first one as the words come out of my lungs on their own.

"Vincent Harvey. You were a monster. Worse than any demon or ghost. God or man. But... I don't agree with Lazarus. You were still human. You... You fought for us your whole life. Dedicated your all. I can only imagine what would have befallen humanity had you vanished beyond the waves. You were... wrong. But you... you were not a bad man. At least I don't think so. It was the Concept. Or... that's what I want to believe. And... I took your soul. You're a part of me, now. So... the Limitless shall have mercy on your soul."

I place my hand against the soil, and I dig deep, finding the inner sections of my soul. All those that I have taken into myself are assimilated instantly, joining my soul and empowering it. But... I still find his. I find it because it's my soul. Everything within it is mine. The God of Souls cannot possibly mess this up.

Beyond discovering his soul, I retrieve it, holding the orb of light to my eyes. I twist it with my mind, returning it to what it once was. It hurts. Quite a bit in fact, but I do it nonetheless. Vincent's mind doesn't return, however. That is long gone. It just is simply his now, no longer mine. While I will lose some strength from this, namely ease of use with Ether and general physicality, as my soul is one with my body, I still must do this. I just have to.

I stare at the splotch of his soul for several moments, and those moments stretch beyond what I had expected.

For a long, long time until I find the words I want to share. They are short and unable to describe my emotions adequately, but they extract respect from the cradled hatred I have for the man.

"Thank you."

My hand falls into the earth as I release the soul, letting it flow to wherever it goes now. Probably the Underworld. Maybe not. Killian's Divinity might have changed things up, but I don't know. There is a whole lot I don't know.

Maybe it's about time I start learning how to be a God.